DUBUBUE, Iowa — Three Bethany Lutheran players finished in double digits in the 89-76 loss to No. 8/10 Simpson at the Loras Tournament Thursday. Senior Hanna Geistfeld (Truman, Minn.) led all scorers with 24 points, freshman Alexis Cloyd (Garden City, Minn.) had 16 and junior Taryn Christensen (South Sioux City, Neb.) tallied 14.

Simpson was ranked No. 8 in the WBCA poll (Dec. 21 edition) and No. 10 in the D3hoops.com (Dec. 14 edition).

This was BLC's third game against a ranked opponent this season.

Geistfeld also finished with a double double for the eighth-straight game as she had 12 rebounds.

The Storm led 31-23 after the first quarter, and 44-39 at halftime.

The Vikings made it a three-point game on Cloyd's triple with 2:45 to play in the third (64-61). Simpson answered with an 8-0 run to close the frame.

BLC sliced the margin to seven (71-64) on another trey from Cloyd in the first minute of the fourth. The Storm compiled a 9-0 run to push the lead to double digits for the duration of the contest.

As a team, Bethany owned the advantages in three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and rebounds.

The Vikings are off from competition until Saturday, Jan. 8 when they continue UMAC play on the road against Martin Luther at 1 p.m.