Second-half points cost Simon Fraser University a Great Northwest conference title.
SFU led by 10 points heading into the second half of the championship final, but lost momentum on the defensive glass before falling 78-74 to Western Washington in Lacey, Washington in a rematch of last season’s conference final.
But the Clan women’s basketball team will get another crack at their cross-border rival when the two NCAA Division II foes meet again this Friday in the opening round of the national tournament in Pomona, California.
“(Western Washington) is a team we know really well,” said Clan head coach Bruce Langford. “Maybe we had too big a lead (in the conference final). When we got tentative, we couldn’t get untentative. I think it’s an excellant matchup.”
It will be the fourth meeting this season between SFU and Western Washington with the Clan looking to even the series and to move on to the second round on March 15.
SFU advanced to the conference final following an 85-74 upset win over regular season champion and No. 1 seed Montana State Billings on Friday.
“We came out with a lot of confidence. It just didn’t last long enough,” said Clan head coach Bruce Langford in a school press release. “We had four people contribute to the offence, but we could have used a little bit more in places. The game was really lost on the offensive boards. They had way too many offensive boards, which led to second-chance points.”
Senior Marie-Line Petit, who scored eight of her 18 points in a 10-0 Clan start, finished the tournament with 54 total points.
Erin Chambers led the Clan with 28 points. The SFU junior also registered a team-high 22 points in the win over Billings.
Katie Lowen chipped in with 13 points, while Chelsea Reist finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Meg Wilson led the team in rebounding with 11.
In the semifinal, SFU got 30 points and 21 assists off the bench in the upset win over Montana State.
SFU lost its two matchups with Billings during conference play this season.
Lowen added 17 points, while Wilson had 13 points and eight boards. Reist and Petit both contributed a dozen points to the scoreline. Petit also had a team-best nine rebounds and six assists.
