On Thursday, February 7 and Saturday, February 9, the SFU women’s basketball team continued their excellent play after travelling down to Oregon for a two-game road trip. They won both games by slim margins, coming up with clutch plays down the stretch in back-to-back contests.
Game 1:
First up, the Clan played Concordia University on Thursday night.
After a tough first half that saw SFU go down 37–31 heading into the break, Jessica Jones got her team back into the game in the second half. She scored 15 of her 20 points in the second half, including 5–8 shooting from the field and three three-pointers.
In the fourth quarter, things got exciting, as the teams were tied three times in the frame. In the final minutes of the game, however, the Clan were able to get some clutch buckets to pull ahead. An and-one by Ozioma Nwabuko followed by a Tayler Drynan three gave SFU a six-point lead, and clutch free throws from Kendall Sands helped seal the win late.
When the final horn went, the visiting team won by a score of 66–63.
Game 2:
The Clan took this momentum into the next game, again pulling off a tight win, this time against Western Oregon University.
Things didn’t start off too great, though. SFU only managed to score five points in the first quarter, going over eight minutes without a field goal at one point. They picked up their scoring in the second quarter, however, but were still down 26–23 at the half.
A strong third quarter got the team back up ahead, as they outscored the Wolves 16–8 in the frame. The Clan managed to hold the lead down the stretch, with Sands again scoring clutch free throws late.
Despite a tough shooting night, where SFU went 20–65 (30.8%) from the field, they still survived. To highlight the offensive struggles, Samantha Beauchamp led all Clan starters with a 33% field goal percentage in the game, scoring her only basket within the first minute of the game and finishing the game 1–3 from the field.
Over the course of a season, tough shooting nights are bound to happen. The important thing is that SFU managed to pull off the win.
The Clan are now 10–4 in GNAC play this season, and winners of eight of their last nine. They sit at third in the GNAC, behind Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage, who both are 13–1 this season.
What’s next:
SFU will play its next two games at home, the first coming on Valentine’s Day when they host Seattle Pacific University. The Falcons are 6–8 in the GNAC so far this campaign. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
