Simpson hits century mark in rout of Saint Mary’s

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Simpson College women's basketball team exerted its dominance early and never looked back en route to a 104-50 victory over Saint Mary's at the Loras Holiday Classic.

The Storm (7-6) pulled away early in the contest, using a 20-0 run to claim a 36-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Simpson was 7 of 11 from the floor during that stretch and forced the Belles (3-9) into six turnovers.

Coming out of the locker room with a 54-26 lead, Simpson continued to dominate and outscored Saint Mary's 27-4 in the third quarter behind suffocating defense and 57.1 percent shooting. Haley Rasmussen scored nine points in the frame, including the first seven points of a 19-0 scoring run.

Lauren Jermain sank a pair of free throws to push Simpson over the century mark with 1:13 remaining in the game.

KEY CONTRIBUTORS

• Haley Rasmussen: 17 points, 2 assists
• Cassie Nash: 12 points, 6 steals, 5 assists
• Elle Street: 9 points, 6 steals, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
• Maddax DeVault: 12 points, 3 steals, 3 assists
• Dylan Holland: 8 points, 6 rebounds
• Molly Lutmer: 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Simpson won the turnover battle 35-6, scoring 41 points off the Saint Mary's miscues. The 35 turnovers are the most forced by the Storm defense since Jan. 5, 2022 against Buena Vista.
• The Storm tallied a season-high 27 assists on 37 made field goals.
• Simpson's 28 steals are the most in a single game since tallying 29 against Mount Mary on Nov. 15, 2014. Elle Street and Cassie Nash both notched six, with Street setting a new career high in the process.
• Seven different players knocked down a triple as the Storm registered their fifth game with 10 or more 3-pointers this season.
• Saint Mary's was held to 1-for-15 shooting in the third quarter as Simpson won the frame 27-4.

NOTES

• Simpson hit 100 points for the first time since Feb. 24, 2022 and 45th time in program history.
• Haley Rasmussen extends her streak of scoring in double-digits to six games. She has 10 or more points in all but two games this year and is now tied for 10th in program history with 92 made 3-pointers.
• Cassie Nash becomes the 19th player at Simpson to pull down 400 career rebounds. She will enter the new year ranked first in career steals (320), fourth in career assists (325) and eighth in career scoring (1,358).

UP NEXT
Simpson begins its 2024 schedule with a road conference game against Buena Vista (1-8, 0-3 A-R-C) on Wednesday evening.