A win on Thursday night could’ve propelled the SFU women’s basketball team into the second seed in the GNAC standings. A loss could’ve sent them to sixth. That’s the way it is in the GNAC, and that’s the way it’s been all season: incredibly tight, where no team can be taken for granted.
Heading into the game, the Clan were sitting on a 9–5 record, while the Central Washington Wildcats were struggling at only 4–10 — but don’t think for a second that they’re a bad team. In this league, those don’t exist.
Nevertheless, with the playoffs inching closer and closer, one could’ve expected the Clan to come into the game with bigger things on the mind. But when one loss can drop you to the sixth and final playoff berth, there’s no bigger thing than the game at hand.
“It’s impossible not to be focused [on the game],” said guard Marie-Line Petit. “You have to be. With the conference so tight, you have to be ready to play.”
However, for large portions of the game, it seemed as though the Clan were lacking that necessary focus.
The team showed it early and played to an early lead, and looked like they might run away with the game early. A strong start forced the Wildcats to take a timeout and make a full personnel change just two minutes in. But every time the Clan looked like they were about to pull away, the Wildcats clawed their way right back into the thick of things. A back-and-forth first half ended with the Clan up 35–27, thanks in large part to the team’s inside defense. SFU outscored Central Washington 18–6 from inside the paint, but the Wildcats’ deep ball was firing on all cylinders, keeping the team in it.
In the second half however, things began to unravel a little for the Clan. The team committed just three turnovers in the entire first half, but had six in the first five minutes of the second alone. Foul trouble cost the Clan Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe’s services for longer than anyone would’ve hoped. Kristina Collins — arguably the Clan’s most accurate shot — finished just 4–11 from the floor. The team as whole shot only 14 per cent from beyond the arc, and while the team did rebound well, those missed shots often turned into points for the Wildcats.
The Clan are a talented enough team to succeed even when playing poorly, and for 57 minutes, they were doing just that. And for the final 10, it seemed like they were simply surviving. Eventually though, the team’s troubles finally caught up to them and Central Washington took a 66–64 lead with just over two minutes to play.
“We just rallied and stayed calm,” said Petit of her team’s mentality after trailing for the first time in the game. “We’re a good team, we knew how to get it back.”
And they did.
As if they had just been saving their best play for when they absolutely needed it, the Clan promptly stole the lead right back. With time ticking down, the Wildcats were forced to foul to salvage any chance at a win. Instead, the Clan finished 8-for-8 from the line in the final 90 seconds, which sealed the 70–66 Clan victory.
That the Clan didn’t put forth anything close to their best effort against a team below them in the standings is disconcerting. That they found a way to win in spite of it is critical. When the playoffs roll around in just a few weeks’ time, finding ways to win will be essential. The best teams know how to do just that, and while the win only moved the Clan into third, they’re not all that far from the top. And in a league like this, that’s no small feat.
