Simpson’s Women’s basketball team defeated Luther by a score of 70-54 on Saturday, Jan. 7, but that wasn’t the only news. Cassie Nash also surpassed the 1,000-point milestone on a layup in the fourth quarter. 

Nash had 20 points and set a career-high in blocks with five against the Norse. Nash described what has enabled her to reach this impressive feat. 

“As a whole, it shows how good we are as a team because we had Cam Kincaid hit that mark last year, and Jenna Taylor hit 1,500 last year, so playing with them and learning from them was a huge help for me. I didn’t know it was coming, so it was really cool to celebrate with the team afterward, but it shows how the team’s success has led to individual success.” 

The 1,000-point night wasn’t only a surprise for Nash—it also came as a surprise to the coaches. 

“Honestly, I had no clue, I didn’t,” Head Coach Brian Neimuth said. He got an email asking what he wanted to do when Nash scored her 1,000th point because she only needed 13 more before the Luther game. “It was a bit of a surprise to me because of the amount of games she’s played, but I was really excited for her.” 

Although there have been several Simpson women’s players to reach this scoring accolade, it doesn’t mean the task is an easy one. It takes years of concentration, commitment and teamwork. 

“It says she’s a pretty good player. She’s a very talented young lady. She’s gotten that 1,000 points in basically three years,” said Neimuth. “I think she’s been very consistent in how she’s done it, and I think that probably says more about her than anything. She shows up every day and is the same player.”

Nash also attributes a lot of her success to the teammates around her in the past and present. 

“I feel like the talent we’ve had in the past has really helped as well as the talent this year. We have a lot of girls stepping up into important roles because we lost a lot of players last season. It’s definitely a team accomplishment,” Nash said. 

Assistant Coach Claire Johnson is one of the few people who have gotten to help Nash reach this goal on and off the court. Johnson played for Simpson from 2016-2020 and is currently in her 3rd season as a coach for the team.

“I actually got to play with Cash [Cassie]  her freshman year when I was a senior, so it’s cool for me because I’ve got to see her grow from her freshman year to now—watching her whole experience here and being able to be a part of her 1000 points as a teammate and now as a coach is awesome. It’s just really cool to see her grow,” said Johnson. 

Nash has accumulated many records, awards and milestones during her time at Simpson, but those have never been her main goal. 

“I go into each game just wanting to do what I can for the team, not necessarily focusing on individual awards. Awards that I win throughout are great, but it’s more about helping the team,” Nash said.  

Her focus, instead, is on the work that needs to be done for the rest of the season. 

“Playing under coach Niemuth also is super cool, he’s a great guy, and I’ve learned so much from him, and I feel like we’re not done yet this year. We did really well last year, making it to the national tournament, and we had a rocky start to this season, but we’ve definitely improved a lot just in the first few weeks. So we hope to finish out strong again,” Nash said. 

The Storm has won 6 out of the last 7 contests and sits at an even 8-8 record. Central and Coe will be their next opponents, with games on Jan. 18 and 21.