Simpson edged by Luther on the road

DECORAH, Iowa – Morgan Pietig sank a three to put the Simpson College women's basketball team ahead in the final minute, but Luther responded with a jumper to win a tight American Rivers Conference battle in Decorah.

The Storm (7-8, 3-3 A-R-C) fell behind by 13 early in the third but battled all the way back and took an 83-82 lead with Pietig's triple with 59 seconds left. Kate Hosking sank a jumper to put Luther (12-3, 5-1 A-R-C) in front 84-83 with 26 seconds left, and the Norse defense stood tall in the end as Simpson's final shot attempt was just off the mark.

Molly Lutmer was one point shy of her career high with 27 points, while Pietig tied her career high of 13 points. Haley Rasmussen and Taylor Hansen each contributed 10 points, and Ella Anderson narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.

BREAKING DOWN THE GAME

• Luther held a 22-16 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
• Molly Lutmer and Haley Rasmussen scored all 11 of Simpson's first points of the second quarter, closing the gap to 28-27 in favor of the Norse.
• Luther closed the half on a 13-3 run to lead 41-30 at the break.
• Simpson clawed its way back to a one-possession deficit with the help of 3-pointers from Lutmer, Rasmussen, and Elle Street.
• Lutmer and Taylor Hansen strung together a 20-10 run to make the score 68-67 with 9:17 left in the contest.
• Simpson stayed within striking distance but didn't grab the lead until under a minute left when Pietig hit a clutch three. The Norse managed to regain the lead on their next possession, however, and Simpson was unable to answer before time expired.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Molly Lutmer: 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
• Morgan Pietig: 13 points, 6 rebounds
• Ella Anderson: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists
• Haley Rasmussen: 10 points, 3 steals
• Taylor Hansen: 10 points
• Elle Street: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

NOTES

• Haley Rasmussen needs just 16 more points to reach 1,000 in her career at Simpson.

NEXT UP
The Storm will return to play on Wednesday when they travel to Storm Lake to face off against the Buena Vista Beavers. The team will return home to take on Loras on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2 p.m.