BURNABY, B.C. – The Simon Fraser University Clan returned to action this evening after a short Christmas break with an 83-61 victory over their old rivals from the Canada West Conference, the University of Manitoba Bisons.

"It's always nice to get that first win after the Christmas break.  It's tough to be sharp after a week off," said Assistant Coach Courtney Gerwing. "We weren't great defensively, especially in the first half. We talked about that at halftime and I think we improved in the second half."

The offence was spread around for SFU this evening as every player who stepped on the floor for the Clan recorded at least two points.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (Vernon, B.C.) led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds to record yet another double-double in the SFU victory.

Three more players registered double digits in points for SFU as Kelsey Binns (Port Moody, B.C.) scored 16, Chelsea Reist (Mission, B.C.) scored 15, and Kia Van Laare (New Westminster, B.C.) scored 10.

Kristina Collins (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) led the Clan in assists with seven while Marie-Line Petit (Bergeronnes, Que.) finished close behind with six.
 
The Clan opened the game on a run that resulted in SFU holding a 14-4 lead less than six minutes into the game.

Manitoba showed that they could put points on the board the rest of the half but not enough to threaten the Clan, as SFU went into the locker room with a 44-32 lead.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, the Bisons showed that they were capable of playing with SFU.

Manitoba outscored Simon Fraser 18-16 early on and cut the Clan lead to 10, making the score 60-50.

It was all Clan the rest of the way though as SFU promptly went on a 22-0 run to open up a 32-point lead, as SFU eventually cruised to an 83-61 victory.

The win improves SFU's record to 6-3 on the season, and they remain 2-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action.

The Clan will be back in action again tomorrow against another CIS opponent when they travel to Langley to face the Trinity Western Spartans.  

They return to Conference play when they travel to Bellingham, Wash., for a game against the Western Washington University Vikings on Saturday, December 31 at 3 p.m.