STORM LAKE, Iowa (Feb. 14, 2024) - Junior McKenna Cone scored 12 points as sophomore Danika Demers added 11, but the Buena Vista women's basketball team fell at home on Wednesday night to visiting Simpson College, 92-49.

Cone was just 5-of-19 shooting from the field and finished 0-of-7 from downtown while Demers was 2-of-4 from long range and 3-of-7 overall. She also made all three free-throw attempts to go along with a pair of steals and two assists.

Sophomore Hayley Humphrey came off the bench and turned in seven points and three rebounds in 15 minutes while Sidney Reimer chipped in six points.

Buena Vista shot 39 percent in the first half from the field but did not attempt a free-throw during that span. The Beavers, who trailed by 20 at the break, cooled off drastically in the second, making 6-of-32 from the field and only 1-of-13 from beyond the arc.

The Storm got a quick layup off the opening tip and then forced BVU into back-to-back turnovers which led to a 6-0 lead only 45 seconds in.  They pushed the margin into double digits at 14-4 midway through the quarter and matched their largest lead at 24-11 going to the second.

BVU scored the first points of the second quarter on a jumper by Cone but a 14-4 spurt by the Storm made it a 38-17 contest with 2:34 remaining in the opening half. The Beavers got a three-point bucket from Demers just before the first half horn sounded to pull within 45-25 at the break, but it was too much to overcome.

The Beavers were held to just three points for the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half as the Storm pushed their advantage to over 30 for the first time midway through. 

Simpson (14-11, 9-7 A-R-C) was just 4-of-14 shooting from long range in the contest, but took advantage of a 22-of-24 effort at the charity stripe to aid in the win. The Storm shot 49 percent from the field overall and had 24 fast break points. Doryn Paup scored a game-high 16 points off the bench to lead Simpson while Cassie Nash added 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. 

Buena Vista drops to 2-20 on the year (1-14 A-R-C) and will wrap up its season on Saturday, Feb. 17, hosting Nebraska Wesleyan (0-20, 0-15 A-R-C) at 2 p.m.