Box Score
Lacey, WA - The Simon Fraser University Clan women's basketball team upset the number one seeded Montana State University-Billings Yellowjackets 85-74 in semi-final action in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference playoffs.

"It was a good team effort," said Head Coach Bruce Langford. "21 assists, 30 points off the bench. We outrebounded them which was a huge goal. I was pretty pleased with our effort all night."

Trailing to start the game, the Clan began to battle back as junior Katie Lowen (Lethbridge, AB) kicked off a 9-0 run with a three-pointer to bring the Clan within four, making the score 21-17 Yellowjackets.

Meg Wilson (London, ON) finished the run with a steal and breakaway layup to give SFU their first lead of the game 23-21.

From there the teams would battle back-and-forth as neither team led by more than three points over the final half of the opening twenty minutes. With the score deadlocked at 35, junior Erin Chambers (Mission, BC) hit one of the Clan's four first half threes as time expired, to give them a 38-35 lead at the half.

After being outrebounded in both games against MSUB during the regular season, SFU held a 21-18 advantage on the boards at the half, which helped them to hold a lead.

"Our goal was to certainly outrebound them," said Langford. "We set an unrealistic goal of trying to get 50 rebounds, but we shot the ball to well to get 50 rebounds."

SFU started off hot in the second half as Chambers made her second three-pointer on the night to extend the Clan's lead to six.

By games end, the Clan shot 47.8 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from behind the arc. As well, SFU went 91.7 percent from the charity stripe, compared to MSUB's 70.4 percent.

"It was a good game," said Chambers. "It was competitive all around."

The Yellowjackets would not go down without a fight however, as they were able to cut the deficit to just two points, 43-41. But when the Clan needed an answer, someone stepped up, as five players scored in double figures.

"I think we're a pretty good team when we're confident, when we play with some intelligence," explained Langford. "I think we're capable of scoring because several people can shoot the ball well."

Chambers led SFU with 22 points and added seven rebounds, while Lowen scored 17 points and Wilson 13, to go along with her eight rebounds. Seniors Chelsea Reist (Mission, BC) and Marie-Line Petit (Bergeronnes, QC) both contributed 12 points apiece.

With SFU holding just a one point lead at 58-57 midway through the second half, the team would go on an impressive 10-0 run as the offence scored and the defence shut down the potent Yellowjackets offence.

Lowen once again got things started as she made two of her three three-pointers during that stretch, while adding another basket to help push SFU's lead to 68-57.

MSUB would slow down the Clan a bit, thanks to a 6-0 run of their own, but again when SFU needed a basket, they got it from someone.

Senior Rebecca Langmead (Torbay, NL) had a nice and-one to make the score 71-60, while Petit continued her hot touch from her career night on Thursday, with a nice individual effort to drive to the hoop for the basket.

Petit added a team high nine rebounds and six assists to go along with her dozen points, giving her a total of 36 in her past two games.

Leading by seven with under two-minutes to go, Lowen made six straight free throws as the Yellowjackets began fouling trying to get back into the game.

SFU did not trail in the second half, while winning the battle on the boards 41-39, which led to a 38-28 advantage in points-in-the-paint. The Clan forced 16 turnovers, turning them directly into 19 points, while the bench outscored MSUB's 30-8.

With the win, it will set up a rematch from last year's conference finals, as the Clan will face number two seed Western Washington at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The rivals split their season series.

"We have to hit more shots," said Langford on what his team needs to do against WWU that they did not do last time they faced each other. "Western does a really good job taking teams out of their offence and we can't let them take us out of our offence. We need to shoot our shots when we want to shoot our shots, from where we want to shoot our shots. And if we do that, we're a much better team. We've got to work harder offensively coming off the screens and moving the ball."

"I really think all the girls are excited to play Western Washington. It's a big rival for us, so that is an easy get up. It's going to be a battle. But I think if we play the way we played today as a team effort, I think it's going to be a close game. It's going to be fun to watch," added Chambers.

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