BURNABY, BC – Simon Fraser University scrapped and battled with Concordia University for almost three quarters before taking over the game and earning a 69-58 win over the Cavaliers in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball action Thursday in the West Gym.
It was a tale of two halves. The Clan had to overcome a poor shooting first half to get the win.
Simon Fraser tightened its defence and elevated its play midway through the third quarter to break open a close game and create a double digit lead.
Simon Fraser trailed 28-26 at the break after shooting just 9-of-35 (25.7%) from the field and connecting on just 3-of-15 three-point attempts. Concordia made 11-of-28 shots in the first half.
But the Clan reversed its fortunes in the second half by shooting 48.4% and taking over the contest. SFU shared the ball and made shots, going 15-of-31 from the field. They earned 13 assists on those baskets.
The victory ended a two game losing streak and evened the Clan's overall record at 8-8. SFU improved to 6-5 in the GNAC and sits in fifth place after games Thursday. Concordia fell to 4-15 overall, 2-9 in conference play.
Next up, Simon Fraser hosts the Pink Game on Saturday, Jan. 30 (5:15 tip-off) against Western Oregon. Saturday's game is the team's annual fundraising effort in support of breast cancer research and fans are encouraged to wear pink. Pink Game t-shirts will be available for $15 with all proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Foundation. There'll be a silent auction, raffle, 50/50 draw, half time competitions and plenty of prizes to be won.
Watch the Clan's breast cancer awareness video here:
http://athletics.sfu.ca/news/2016/1/25/WBB_0125161816.aspx After Clan starting forwards
Rachel Fradgley and
Samantha Beauchamp picked up their third fouls each midway through the third quarter, the Clan started to pull away.
Elisa Homer, who is among the leaders in NCAA Division II averaging 3.8 three-pointers a game, hit a three to give the Clan an eight point lead. After a defensive stop, SFU's
Ellen Kett followed with another three to push the lead to double digits for the first time in the game.
Simon Fraser outscored the Cavaliers 23-10 in the third. It was the only quarter the Clan won on the scoreboard.
SFU survived a run by Concordia that cut the lead to six with eight minutes left. But SFU regained control of the game, pushed the lead out to as many as 14 and held on for the win.
"It all started to click in the second half. We put a greater emphasis on flare screens and started to pick it up on defence," said Homer. "Offence always comes from defence. We knew our shots would start to fall if we picked it up on defence. We knew we would start to make our shots"
Kett, the No. 1 three-point shooter in NCAA D2 – men or women – connecting on 53.4% of her shots, finished the game 3-of-5 on Thursday. She finished with 14 points and eight assists.
Homer led all players with 18 points, including 3-of-7 on 3-pointers.
Alisha Roberts, who had a season-high 20 points last game, scored 15 points for the Clan. She was 5-of-11 on threes.
Samantha Beauchamp added 13 rebounds.
Sierra Dean scored 15 points to lead the Cavaliers.
Follow the SFU Clan women's basketball team on the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/SFUWomensbball.
--@SFUClan--
