SEATTLE, WA --- Thursday night in the GNAC Championships, the #4 Simon Fraser University Women's Basketball Team bowed out in the quarter finals against the #5 Central Washington University Wildcats by a final score of 76 to 60. 
 
Central Washington got off to a good start, opening the game on a 6-0 run, which would propel them to a strong first quarter overall. After the opening ten minutes of play, CWU found themselves up 15-7. 
 
SFU's Jessica Jones led the charge in the early second quarter though, and Simon Fraser looked to get back into the game, closing the gap to just three points at 18-15. Finally with just over four minutes to go in the first half, SFU took their first lead of the night as Ozioma Nwabuko layed-in a shot which put SFU up 21-20.
 
The Wildcats were not deterred by Simon Fraser's improved play however, and responded with an impressive run of their own, scoring nine unanswered points. On the strength of this late first half surge, CWU headed to the break up six points at 34-28.
 
The Wildcats continued to roll as they opened the second half, and SFU found themselves down ten points mid-way through the third quarter. Simon Fraser worked tirelessly throughout the third to erode CWU's lead, and Sophie Klassen hit a deep three point shot which brought her team back within six at 49-43. 
 
Unfortunately for Simon Fraser, the team from Ellensburg seemed to always have a response to SFU's runs, often aided by phenomenal offensive rebounding, and Central was back up ten as the teams headed to the final quarter of play. 
 
In the final quarter, Central Washington did a good job managing their lead, and would eventually hold on for a 76 to 60 victory. Leading the way for Simon Fraser in the quarter finals was Jessica Jones who put up 11 points and 8 assists. In her final game for SFU, senior Tayler Dryan also put up 11 points, adding 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
 
Simon Fraser ends their season with an 18-13 record.