FULLERTON, Calif. - The women's basketball squad has already punched its playoff ticket as they looked to lock down the #2 seed in the Cal Pac standings as they took on Westcliff University tonight.
The Red Hawks drew first blood as
Tessa Kinney converted on a layup for the first points of the night.
A highly contested layup by
Nikki Thompson drew the and-one foul as she sunk her free throw to complete the three-point play to tie the game at eight.
The Red Hawks grabbed the 11-10 lead to end the first quarter as Kinney converted from beyond the arc.
Back-to-back free throws by
Cerina Nguyen extended Simpson's 13-10 lead before the Warriors tied the game at 13.
Kinney came up huge in the second quarter as she nailed two big three-pointers to allow Simpson to retake the lead.
A layup by Nguyen to end the half gave Simpson the 25-22 advantage.
Kinney never missed a beat as she opened the third quarter with another three-pointer to give Simpson the 28-24 lead.
Simpson closed out the third quarter with a two-point lead on a layup from Thompson to make it a 39-37 Red Hawks lead.
However, the Warriors held the four-point lead with two and a half minutes left in regulation before a layup by Thompson pulled Simpson back within two points.
Two free throws by
Anna Marshall followed by a layup by
Zara Dumatol tied the game at 58 with just over a minute left in the game.
The Simpson defense stepped up as Thompson earned a key rebound that drew a foul. Thompson went on to sink both free throws to give the Red Hawks the 60-58 lead with less than a minute left in the game.
The Warriors looked to take one more shot before a huge steal by Thompson drew another foul. She put the game out of reach as she drilled both free throws to give Simpson the 62-58 victory.
Thompson posted a team-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds as Kinney just missed a double-double with 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds as she shot 4-5 from downtown.
Simpson looks to close out the regular season this Saturday as they take on La Sierra at 6:45 pm before they get ready for the Cal Pac Conference tournament.
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