In a conference where first-and sixth-place are separated by only three wins, there’s hardly a sure thing among the women’s basketball teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). But as the season progresses, the Simon Fraser Clan are looking more and more like just that with their latest triumph being a 77–68 win over the Seattle Pacific Falcons — their fourth straight.
It was a game of ebbs and flows that, as the team’s traded baskets over the first seven possessions, started off as a shootout. SFU took an early 8–6 lead, but things quieted down quickly, and the game was tied at just 11 apiece midway through the first.
As she’s done so often this season, junior captain Erin Chambers spurred on the Clan attack from all over the court — in the paint and from three-point range. Solid defence from Meg Wilson helped, as SFU began to pull ahead and went into halftime with a narrow 34–29 lead.
In the second half, SFU began to run away with the game.
Junior guard Katie Lowen caught fire, hitting three straight triples to increase SFU’s lead to double digits. The Clan got a scare when Chambers left the game with an apparent dislocated finger, but even in her absence, the Clan kept their heads above water.
“When Erin got hurt, we took a deep breath and we had to re-gather ourselves,” said Lowen. “We did a good job staying composed.”
Chambers would return, and finished with 20 on the night, though the night really belonged to Lowen, who scored 23, and went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Her offensive outburst helped push the Clan lead to as much as 19, but the Falcons rallied in the final three minutes to make the final score much more respectable. There was one major factor in the game’s outcome: while SFU shot 41 per cent from three-point range, the visitors went 0–11 from downtown.
“We just hit a lot of shots at a crucial time to put it away,” said head coach Bruce Langford after the contest.
It was a statement win over a bitter rival, and a team that had the same record as the Clan entering the game. SFU’s record is bumped up to 7–3, which puts them in a tie for second in the GNAC, while SPU falls to 6–4, a full game behind the Clan.
Entering the thick of the latter half of their schedule, SFU needs all the separation they can get in one of the NCAA Div. II’s tightest conferences.
