Simon Fraser University holds down third place in the Great Northwest women's basketball standings following the New Year's restart.
The Clan got a game-winning bucket from freshman forward Samantha Beauchamp with just over a second remaining on the clock to edge Montana State Billings 74-73 at the West Gym on New Year's Day.
On Saturday, SFU suffered its first conference loss, falling 61-56 to No. 19-ranked Seattle Pacific at home.
Trailing by a point against Billings, Erin Chambers blocked a three-point attempt with 23 seconds remaining and point guard Ellen Kett found Beauchamp unguarded in the paint for an easy lay-up and the one-point win.
"We decided to let them play," SFU head coach Bruce Langford said in a Clan press release on whether or not to call a time out and set up a last-second play. "My natural instinct is always to let them play because we have worked on these situations so often they should all know what to do."
Chambers, who led the Clan with 22 points and seven assists, closed the gap to a single digit with a three-point play on a lay-up and an extra point on a foul shot with less than two minutes left to play.
Freshman Rachel Fradgley posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Katie Lowen added 12 points, while Beauchamp and Meg Wilson chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Two days later, SFU shot poorly from beyond the arc and it cost them. SFU made just two of 19 attempted three-pointers in the game, allowing Seattle Pacific to post its fifth consecutive win.
The Falcons closed the first half on a 31-10 run and built a 15-point advantage early in the latter half before SFU clawed its way back, trailing by just two points with less than five minutes left to play.
Chambers scored 15 of her team-high 21 points in the second half, but missed six attempted treys.
Wilson had 14 points and Fradgley recorded a game-high 11 boards, including seven off the offensive boards.
"We don't often quit, and we found some resiliency to come back, and I liked that about our squad. But the reality is if we had done a better job shooting we could have won this game," said Langford.
