INDIANOLA, Iowa – The No.5/6-ranked Simpson Storm defeated the University of Dubuque 79-65 Saturday, February 12 to claim their second consecutive American River Conference Women’s Basketball title.

Head coach Brian Niemuth has been at the helm of Storm Basketball for 13 of the program’s 14 titles. He has helped guide the Storm to a successful season, moving to 21-1 overall and 13-0 in league play, only dropping one early season loss to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
 
The Spartan’s gave the Storm all they had. Dubuque dominated the first quarter, leading the Storm 21-17. The Spartans had a 7-3 after a three-pointer from senior forward Allison Bailey, and they did not look back for the rest of the quarter. The Storm fought hard to take the lead before going into the second half. Senior guard Anna Wanek (seven points) and junior guard Cassie Nash (eight points) combined for 15 of the Storm’s 22 second quarter points. 

After a back and forth third quarter, the Storm started to take charge in the fourth and final quarter. Simpson began the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run, bringing their lead to eleven. Their largest lead of the afternoon was 16 after a string of layup and a three-point shot. In the final quarter, Simpson outscored the Spartans 28-16. With this afternoon’s win, the Storm have won the conference title outright and have secured the No.1 seed in the American Rivers Conference Tournament. 
 
Simpson was led by Nash who scored 24 points, going 6-9 on the line and 9-16 on the field. The junior also dished out five assists and collecting nine steals on the afternoon. Wanek and graduate student Jenna Taylor both scored 16 points in this afternoon’s game. Taylor led the team in rebounds collecting 12. 

The Storm won the 2021 conference title after a Covid-altered regular season schedule that employed an eight-game single round-robin, in place of the typical 16-game double round-robin, the coaches and Athletic Directors approved recognizing a single Conference Champion in lieu of a regular season and tournament champion.  With this, the coaches and Athletic Directors approved, for the first time, an all-comers tournament, which usually has six participants, that determined the 2021 Conference Champion.

The conference tournament returns to a six team tournament this season. Final seeds are determined at the conclusion of the American Rivers Conference 16-game double round robin regular season schedule. The Conference Tournament will be held Tuesday, February 22 (First Round), Thursday, February 24th (Semifinals), and Saturday, February 26 (Championship). Each game will be hosted by the higher seed.The American Rivers Conference Tournament champion receives the leagues' automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.