The Clan women’s basketball season came to an end last week, following a 76–68 loss to the Montana State University-Billings Yellowjackets in the NCAA West Region semifinal.
It was the second time in as many years that the Clan made it to the semis, and though the loss to the #2 Jackets undoubtedly stings, it’s hard not to look at this season as a success.
After stars Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe and Kristina Collins graduated, the team was expected to regress. Though there were some struggles midway through the year, SFU still put together one of its best seasons in the NCAA.
“In a week, we’ll probably be pretty pleased with our season,” said head coach Bruce Langford, whose team was ranked third in the West, right behind MSUB. “There were a lot of high points, a lot of good points. We hit a bit of sickness in the middle and had a bit of a lull but we recovered from it and started to play pretty good basketball in the last three weeks or so.”
His captain agreed with him. “I think we had a tremendous season,” said Erin Chambers, the Clan’s leading scorer. “To get this far was great for the team.”
Chambers finished the game against MSUB with a game-high 33 points, but a 12–1 run by the Jackets to open the second half — which started tied at 35 apiece — put the Clan in a hole they couldn’t climb out of. But it wasn’t for lack of trying.
The deficit would reach 18 points with just three and a half minutes to play, but SFU went on a 10–1 run to close out the game, tightening up the score before time ran out on their season.
SFU finishes the 2013-14 season with an impressive 20–10 record. Though they must bid farewell to seniors Kia Van Laare, Marie-Line Petit, Chelsea Reist and Rebecca Langmead — all key contributors — they’re poised to bounce right back.
“In the next year, I’m really excited to watch this team get better,” said Chambers, who will enter her senior season next fall. “We’re going to go and we’ll all work on our game. We’ve got some good kids coming in and I think we’ll give it a good run next year.”
