Basketball Recap: Olivia Simpson's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Southwestern over Providence

Southwestern has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They fell 49-41 to the Providence Pioneers on Tuesday. The Rebels were not able to make up for their defeat to the Pioneers from their previous meeting back in December of 2023.

Southwestern lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Olivia Simpson, who posted eight points. Simpson continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Harlee Hill, who earned eight points and nine boards.

Rebels

Previous 2 Games

01/14/25 vs Providence	41-49
12/28/24 vs Madison	30-58

Even though they lost, Southwestern smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive boards in three consecutive matches.

It was another big night for Kamden Pierce, who went 7 for 12 on her way to 18 points and seven steals for Providence. The dominant performance gave Pierce a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayda Kempf, who put up 16 points and three steals.

Southwestern's loss dropped their record down to 11-6. As for Providence, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-9.

Southwestern has already played their next contest (against Switzerland County), but no score has been uploaded at the time of writing. Providence will take on Charlestown at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.