Simon Fraser University was far from its best in the Great Northwest conference women's basketball final.
The No. 2-ranked Clan trailed the conference champion Western Washington Vikings all game long in a 60-40 loss to the NCAA Division II west region champs in Lacey, Washington on Saturday.
Although conference player of the year, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe led the team with her 61st career double-double - 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds - Western Washington never trailed in the contest. Eight of Raincock-Ekunwe's points came at the foul line.
"When your best players aren't your best players, you get results like that," said SFU head coach Bruce Langford in a school press release. "We're going to need to learn from this if we get into the national tournament next week because if we don't, we'll be one and done."
SFU trailed 27-16 in the opening half and were outscored 20-10 by the Vikes off turnovers.
On Friday, the Clan advanced to the conference final with a 66-55 win over Seattle Pacific.
Erin Chambers led the SFU offence with 20 points. Katie Lowen chipped in with 15 points and a team-high four assists. Raincock-Ekunwe added 13 points and 11 rebounds in just 28 minutes work.
SFU struggled in the first half, but a Chambers jumper early in the second frame sparked an 18-2 Clan run.
Western Washington knocked off Northwest Nazarene to also advance.
Despite the loss, SFU was seeded second heading into the NCAA West Regionals, which start Friday in Bellingham, Washington.
SFU will face Northwest Nazarene in the first round of the tournament.
The Clan split their season series with the Crusaders, winning their home match 73-52, while losing to Northwest Nazarene by a single point on the road.
