Simon Fraser University made it to the second round of the NCAA Division II women’s basketball championships.
The No. 3 seed Clan got by Great Northwest conference rival Western Washington in the opening round, but could not make it two in a row, falling 76-68 to Montana State Billings in the West region semifinal on March 15.
“Offensive boards were crucial for them and they shot the ball well. (Montana State) have got a very good point guard,” said Clan head coach Bruce Langford in a school press release. “They hit some crucial shots consistently, so it’s tough.”
Billings jumped out to an early 26-18 lead, but SFU finished on a 17-9 run, including 10 points by junior Erin Chambers to tie the contest 35-35 at halftime.
Chambers finished with a game-high 33 points, including 21 in the opening half.
“I think, as a team, we weren’t going to give up, no matter what the scoreboard said. We really wanted to keep pushing. They just hit some big shots and hit more shots than we did.”
Katie Lowen chipped in with 15 points, while senior guard Kia Van Laare added 14 in her final game with the Clan.
It was the third loss to Montana State Billings in four matchups for the Clan women this season.
Montana State opened the second half with a 12-1 start and extended its lead to 18 points, before SFU made a final belated push with less than four minutes on the clock.
A day earlier, SFU defeated Western Washington 77-70.
Chambers led the Clan with 27 points, while Meg Wilson had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior Rebecca Langmead finished just short of a double-double, scoring nine points, grabbing 12 boards and making three blocked shots.
SFU led by as many as 12 points at one stage of the second half, but the U.S. school rallied to tie 63-63 with 6.47 left to play.
The Clan would take the lead after that on a jumper from Lowen. Chambers then potted a three-pointer and was good on four-of-four from the charity stripe down the stretch, including the eventual game-winning bucket, to help SFU advance to the second round.
The win avenged an earlier loss to Western Washington in the conference final.
The Clan finished the season with a 20-10 record.
“In a week, we’ll probably be pretty pleased with our season,” said Langford in a release. “There were a lot of high points, lots of good points.”
