BURNABY, B.C. – Senior forward Erin Chambers scored 28 points and senior guard Katie Lowen hit seven three-pointers but it wasn't enough as Simon Fraser University lost 89-80 to nationally ranked Cal Poly Ponoma Broncos in a NCAA non-conference women's basketball game Sunday in front of 900 fans in SFU's West Gym.
 
Lowen hit a three-pointer with 7:06 to go in the game to pull the Clan to within two, 71-69, before the Broncos went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to seal the victory. Simon Fraser had clawed back from an 11-point second half deficit.
 
"It is always difficult playing catch up," said Clan head coach Bruce Langford.  "We were in foul trouble in the second half so every time we tried to be aggressive we were putting them at the line."
 
The Broncos scored 17 points from the free throw line, going 17-for-24. They were 8-of-11 in the second half from the line.
 
The two teams battled back and forth early in the contest before the Broncos took the lead for good with 9:38 to go in the first half, eventually building a 53-44 lead at the break.
 
"Offensively we shot the ball okay at times but defensively we were just a little bit behind everywhere, just half-a-second slow on help-side defense and helping in the post," said Langford. "But give them credit; they shot the ball incredibly well."
 
The Broncos were 32-of-57 (56.1%) from the field while the Clan shot 41.5% (27-of-65).
 
Simon Fraser took 37 three-pointers in the game, going 14-of-37. In addition to Lowen (Lethbridge, AB), who was 7-of-10 from beyond the arc, Chambers (Mission, BC) went 3-for-12 while Elisa Homer (North Vancouver, BC) was 3-of-7. Homer, a red-shirt freshman, finished with 13 points.
 
SFU forward Meg Wilson (London, ON) had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
 
It was the first loss of the season for Simon Fraser, 2-1, in non-conference play.
 
The Broncos, who are ranked second in the NCAA Division II in the inaugural USA Today Coaches poll of 2014, are currently 2-2 in non-conference play, suffering losses to Point Loma and Azusa Pacific.

Broncos' forward Jada Blackwell, a 2013 All-American and 2014 NCAA Division II preseason player of the year, scored 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds in 38 minutes. Cal Poly guard Ariel Marsh had a team-high 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, and added five assist in 40 minutes.
 
Simon Fraser is back in action Monday evening at 7:00 PM in the West Gym against Colorado Christian. Fans can bring their ticket stub from Sunday's game to recieve a ticket to Monday's game for a 50% discount.
 
The Clan's Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener is on Saturday, Dec. 6 against Western Washington University Vikings in the West Gym.  Simon Fraser University will honour the memory of Canadian hero Terry Fox by raising a banner displaying his name and No. 4 that he wore as a student-athlete on the Clan junior varsity men's basketball team to the West Gym rafters.
 
The banner-raising ceremony will take place prior to tip-off of the men's game beginning at 7:30 PM. The women's game begins at 5:15 PM.  During the ceremony Terry's original jersey will be presented to the Fox Family, represented by Terry's brother, Fred Fox. The original No. 4 jersey will be displayed in the Terry Fox Collection at the renamed Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que, which will open in April 2015, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope.