SUPERIOR, Wis. – Fourteenth-ranked Simpson blew open a tight game after the first quarter en route to a 77-50 victory over the UW-Superior women's basketball team at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium on Tuesday.
 
UWS trailed just 19-18 through the opening 10 minutes before Simpson outscored the Yellowjackets, 28-11, in the second quarter for a 47-29 advantage at the break. The Storm cruised the rest of the way, improving to 5-1 on the season. 
 
Superior shot nearly 54 percent from the floor in the first quarter, connecting on 7-of-13 attempts to stay close, prior to Simpson going 10-for-18 from the field in the second, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range to take a commanding lead. The Storm forced Superior into a season-high 30 turnovers for the game, converting the miscues into 32 points. 
 
The first quarter featured seven ties and five lead changes with neither team gaining more than a three-point edge. Superior lead, 9-6 on a Mady Sanders (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) three-point play, assisted by Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior), with 5:45 to play in the period before Simpson's Cassie Nash scored and was fouled for a 17-14 lead with 2:33 remaining. Christian and Bryton Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) teamed up to tally the next four points as UWS regained an 18-17 lead with 1:26 left, but a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left in the quarter from Jenna Taylor gave the visitors the lead again.
 
Simpson hit on six of its first eight shots in the second quarter to build a 34-23 lead with 5:47 to play in the first half and didn't look back. The Storm carried a 61-38 edge into the fourth quarter.
 
Christian paced the 'Jackets with seven points, while Kaija Davies (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin), Brianna O'Donnell (Richfield, Minn./Richfield), Kukowski and Sanders contributed six points apiece. Sanders pulled down a team-best five of Superior's 36 rebounds on the game. UWS held a plus-1 margin on the glass.
 
Nash scored a game-high 22 points off the bench, also grabbing seven steals, to lead the Storm. Taylor chipped in with13 points and a game-high nine boards.
 
The Yellowjackets (1-5) are back in action on Friday at the 20th-annual McWilliams Classic in St. Louis, facing tournament-host WashU at 7:30 p.m. UWS will either play Berea or Principia Saturday.