INDIANOLA, Iowa – Simpson’s defense forced 26 turnovers and made the most of that defensive performance, outscoring the UW-Platteville 36-7 in points off turnovers as it outlasted the Pioneers (2-7) 79-67 on Saturday night.

The suffocating defense led into 73 shot attempts from the Storm (5-4) who went 30 of 73 from the field, eight percentage points lower from the floor than UW-Platteville, but had four players in double-figures.

Mackenzie Haupt led Simpson with 22 points, followed by Maddie Bosworth with 16 and Katie Ahrenholtz with 13 points off the bench.

The final margin of victory wasn’t indicative of how tight the game was though, as there were six lead changes and two ties. The Storm got behind early, trailing 19-11 at the end of the first quarter, but rebounded to take a 39-38 lead into the half.

Simpson never led by more than six points until going on a 11-2 run late in the fourth quarter to edge ahead 73-62 with 4:11 left in the game before cruising to the finish.

Morgan Horstman had 15 points and Elisa Bilderback 13 to lead UW-Platteville, who falls to 1-4 against Iowa Conference opponents on the season.

The Simpson women’s basketball team will take this week for final exams and won’t be back on the court until Dec. 28 against Coast Guard for the Puerto Rico Tournament.