To end their regular season, the Simpson men’s and women’s basketball squads faced different challenges heading into the conference tournament as the women were blown out 87-59 and the men surviving 75-72.

Both teams had their spots locked in to the Iowa Conference tournament, and were fighting for position and a potential home game. The Storm women just could not generate enough offense against a tough Coe defense, and faced a 27-11 first quarter deficit. They played the Cohawks even through the second and third quarters, and got the deficit as low as 12 in the late third, but Coe had an answer for every run. Jenna Taylor led the Storm with 11 points, and Simpson garners the 6 seed in the conference tournament.

The men also had scoring issues, as they faced a 34-29 disadvantage at halftime, but the scoring soon blew up in the second half. Simpson outscored Coe 46-38 in the second half, with 25 of those points coming from lone senior Sam Amsbaugh, who was also 11/11 at the free throw line.

The win gives the Storm the 4 seed and a home game in the conference tournament, where they will host Wartburg on Tuesday. The women will travel to Cedar Rapids for a rematch with Coe on Tuesday in postseason play.

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