All things considered, it was a pretty good week for SFU’s women’s basketball team. The Clan took down both Alaska Fairbanks University and Alaska Anchorage University, the latter of which is ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II, and had Kristina Collins named GNAC Athlete of the Week. The week was soured a bit by a narrow 76–72 loss to Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday, and though it’s never easy to give up ground to a team lower in the standings as the NNU Crusaders are, the week’s positives far outweigh the negatives.
The Clan are the only basketball team in the GNAC — men’s or women’s — to remain undefeated on home court this season, and they kept that distinction alive and well with the two wins against Alaskan teams. A 77–69 score is not often something worth writing home about, but when it’s against one of the top teams in the entire Divison II, it’s another story.
“It’s the biggest game we’ve played this year,” said guard Marie-Line Petit at the time. “It feels great because we know they’re ranked eighth in the nation, and we’ve been struggling a bit lately,” said SFU guard Marie-Line Petit. The star of the show, however, was Collins, who led the way with 18 points, helped by her five three-point baskets.
She recorded another 15 points against Alaska Fairbanks — this time all of them coming from beyond the arc — as the Clan steamrolled the Nanooks 91–66 last Saturday. Hitting 10 of 15 three-point shots en route to winning to straight games is not going to unnoticed, and Collins was justly named the GNAC’s athlete of the week for her efforts. Heading into Thursday’s contest against Northwest Nazarene, Collins found herself 16th in league scoring but, as much of a star as she was last week, she certainly had help. Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe was her typically dominant self, recording a double-double — 11 points and 15 rebounds — against Alaska Anchorage, and followed it up with another, with a season-high 27 points alongside 11 boards. Three other players also recorded double-digit point totals against a stingy Alaska Anchorage team.
The wins gave the team confidence, and don’t expect that to dissipate after the four-point road loss to Northwest Nazarene. Head ocach Bruce Langford did say the team gave up too many first- and second-chances against the Crusaders, but when you lose to yourself, it’s always fixable. One loss is nothing worth panicking about, and you can bet Langford will fix what needs work.
Still, the team sits at 5–3 in conference play, 10–6 overall, and the team’s overall play of late has been as good as their record would indicate, and the team is going in the right direction — and has been all year long.
