Second place is up for grabs in the Great Northwest women’s basketball conference this Saturday.
Simon Fraser University will take on co-runner-up Western Washington in the final game of the regular season for both teams on Saturday in Bellingham.
The Clan women missed a chance to take of sole possession of second place in the conference following a split with Alaska schools last weekend.
SFU dropped an 87-71 decision to fourth-place Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 20. The Clan then came back from a 13-point deficit to best Alaska Fairbanks 69-67 last Saturday.
“We let (Fairbanks) post way too easily, and we did a poor job taking away their quarter flashes, which really hurt us,” said SFU head coach Bruce Langford in a prepared release. “We battled through it. We found five kids who wanted to compete.”
The win left SFU in a second-place tie with Western Washington, both teams with 12-5 records.
SFU’s Erin Chambers led all scorers in both games with an identical 22 points.
Big numbers for junior
SFU’s Sango Niang was named the Great Northwest co-player of the week, following a huge 63-point weekend in men’s basketball.
Niang recorded back-to-back double-doubles, including 36 points and 11 assists in the Clan’s 112-99 win over Central Washington on Feb. 20.
The Clan junior also netted 27 points and 10 helpers in Saturday’s 98-90 loss to Northwest Nazarene.
Over the weekend, Niang made 19-of-29 field goals, while acing a perfect 20-for-20 from the charity stripe.
A final career win
Sarah Sawatsky finished off her conference career with a win at 800 metres at the Great Northwest indoor track and field championships.
Sawatsky, who battled fatigue over the last two weeks, outraced No. 3-nationally ranked McKayla Fricker of Seattle Pacific to win the metric half-mile in a time of 2:08.57 on Saturday. On Friday, Sawatsky shared a runner-up finish in the distance medley relay with Rebecca Bassett, Kayla Leanna and Kirstin Allen.
“(Sawatsky) was great in the DMR and in her heat, and then she just took off in the final,” said Clan coach Britt Townsend in a Clan press release. “She went out with the leader and hung on to her. Sarah took over and no one was able to catch her. She was thrilled.”
The men’s distance relay team of Travis Vugteveen, Dan Kelloway, James Young and Burnaby’s Cameron Proceviat also took home a conference title in a winning time of 10:07.19.
Golf teams ties for seventh
The Simon Fraser University men's golf team finished tied for seventh at the CSU-San Bernadino Coyote Classic on Tuesday.
SFU moved up three spots in the standings after finishing the first two rounds in 10th place on Monday.
The Clan finished in a tie with its hosts with a team score of 889.
Mike Belle of Burnaby finished the tournament in a tie for fourth overall, shooting a final round of 71 after rounds of 73 and 70 on Monday, giving him a three-round score of 214.
Sophomore John Mlikotic finished in a tie for 20th, posting rounds of 74, 70 and 75 en route to a tournament total of 219.
Freshman Kevin Vigna finished third among Clan golfers, saving his best round for last as he carded a 73 in the third round after shooting 77 and 81 on Monday.
Finishing just a stroke behind Vigna was Bret Thompson.
Rounding out the Clan squad was T.J. McColl, who finished two strokes behind Thompson with a tournament score of 234.
Chico State University won the team competition with a combined score of 855, while Chico State golfer Lee Gearhart took the individual title with a three-round total of 209.
The Clan will be back in action on March 10 and 11 in Belmont, California at the NDNU Argonaut Invitational.
