This Thursday night, the SFU women’s basketball team played the Saint Martin’s Saints in the West Gym. The Clan came into the game with a 7–6 overall record, good enough for fourth in the league, while the Saints entered with a 4–9 record, which put them at ninth. Needless to say, it was a game the Clan were expected to win.
The game began with SFU winning the opening tip-off, and the Clan got off to an early 17–10 lead thanks to a 10–5 run. Saint Martin’s game plan early was evident, which was driving to the basket and drawing fouls. However, SFU’s three-point shooting was excellent, and the Clan established a 22–14 before settling for a 44–35 lead at the end of the first half. The highlight of the half was a basket by Alisha Roberts, who pulled off a nice move one on one before driving to the basket for the easy layup.
In the second half, SFU once again got off to a good start, scoring many times off fast breaks and starting off on a 10–4 run. The rest of the half was very even, with the teams trading baskets back and forth until the end of the half. The final score was 83–70 SFU. Freshman Rachel Fradgley had a fantastic game, with a game high 20 points and going nine for 10 from the field, as well as going two for two from the line. Senior guard Erin Chambers led the team with seven assists, as well as contributing 14 points of her own.
With the win, head coach Bruce Langford ties former women’s basketball coach Allison McNeill’s record of 363 wins in SFU’s women’s basketball program. After the game, he was humble about the record and instead put the focus back on the team. “Well I’m just happy we won today’s game. We need it for our league record after our bad game the other day,” he said.
The joint-record holder also commented on the difference between the first and second half. “I thought we were a bit better shooting in the first half for sure. We were unbelievable from the three point line in the first half, and I thought in the second half we were just holding on, looking over our shoulder.”
The next game will be Saturday night against Western Oregon. If they score another a victory, Langford will break the all-time wins record. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
