Women end historic post-season run at sweet 16
Photo courtesy of Wendee Lang
The Clan women’s basketball team’s first NCAA post-season run came to an end last Tuesday night, losing in the 16th round to their Great Northwest Athletic Conference rivals, Western Washington University.
It was a season filled with success for the Clan, as the team finished the season as runners-up in the GNAC as well as the West Region. SFU picked up numerous conference awards and gained a large support group from within the school and the community.
The team’s run at the regional championships through the top 64, 32, and 16 was wellfollowed by their fans, as many people made the journey down to Bellingham to take in the games.
The women began the tournament with two wins over Northwest Nazarene, another GNAC rival, and then Grand Canyon University to earn a spot in the finals.
Heading into the regional final the SFU women were bracing for a tough game, having dropped the conference final to WWU earlier in the month. The teams, who match-up well on the court, had traded wins in the previous two games.
The Clan opened strong in the first half, as all-regional first team all-star Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe scored 17 points in the opening 20 minutes, allowing the Clan to lead for most of the period.
With 4:54 remaining in the half, the Clan earned their largest lead of the match at 28–22, but Western Washington was able to get on a 9–1 run in the final moments, and the teams would head to the change rooms with WWU leading 32–30.
SFU needed a strong second half to top the reigning GNAC champions, but despite scoring the first four after returning to the court, they were unable to hang on to their lead as a consistent WWU squad started sinking their shots.
The Clan struggled with their shots for the remainder of the period shooting 40 percent in the game and 24 percent from beyond the arc, while Western Washington hit 54 and
50 per cent on the other end.
The game ended in similar fashion to the GNAC championship, as the Clan dropped the match 75–58.
Raincock-Ekunwe led the team in scoring with 19 points and 10 rebounds on the night, while Carla Wyman and Erin Chambers would add 10 and eight points respectively.
Post-game, Raincock-Ekunwe was named to the all-tournament team, one of five players to earn the honour.
The Clan had their best season so far since joining the GNAC conference, ending with a total record of 25–6.
The loss marks the end of the 2012–2013 season for the women’s basketball program, as well as the final game played for SFU by seniors RaincockEkunwe, Chambers and Kristina Collins, but also signifies the beginning of a new era for the team.
Having established themselves as contenders in the conference and the region the team will be back in full force next season looking for their first conference title, as well as to make history in the NCAA.
