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SFU women’s hoops killing it at the big dance

Pucked in the Head is happy to welcome SFU correspondent Jenessa Gladstone to the fold, as she files her first story here on the website. She’s worked extensively up on the Hill, both in her studies and with the Athletics Department, and now here she is a fully-fledged member of the PITH clan.

The SFU Clan women's basketball bench cheers a three-pointer during GNAC conference final action last weekend. Photo from the SFU Athletics website.
The SFU Clan women’s basketball bench cheers a three-pointer during GNAC conference final action last weekend. Photo from the SFU Athletics website.

The Simon Fraser Clan women’s basketball team are making the most of their inaugural season in the NCAA. They finished with a 23-5 overall record, including a 12-0 perfect record on home court, good for second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and a berth in the 64-team Division II NCAA tournament. Check out the interactive bracket here.

In their first taste of big tournament action, SFU defeated the number seven seeded Northwest Nazarene Crusaders (20-5) by a score of 68-57. They move on to face the number six Grand Canyon ‘Lopes, who upset the number three seed UC San Diego in their opening round matchup. Tipoff goes at noon Pacific time on Monday, March 18.

SFU became the NCAA’s only full-member international school on September 1, 2012 after spending the 2011-2012 at the provisional membership status.  The Clan placed second in the GNAC conference tournament at St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington.

GNAC summary (this regional tournament was played last weeked)

Thanks to a first round bye, the Clan faced their first opponent on Friday, March 8, when the team took on the Seattle Pacific University Falcons.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (#5) has been a major reason for the SFU Clan's success this season, earning several league records including the GNAC single-game rebound record (24) and most career GNAC double-doubles (49). Photo cribbed from the SFU website.
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (#5) has been a major reason for the SFU Clan’s success this season, earning several league records including the GNAC single-game rebound record (24) and most career GNAC double-doubles (49). Photo cribbed from the SFU website.

SFU took the victory in the semi-final game, clipping the Falcons, 66-55. The win did not come easy for the Clan though, as they trailed 25-21 at halftime. Throughout the second half of play, however, Canada’s team was able to bounce back and outscore SPU 45-30 while leading by as much as 17.

BC native Erin Chambers led the Clan with 20 points.

Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe of Toronto, Ontario finished the game with a double-double on the night, counting 13 points while grabbing 11 rebounds.

The team’s victory was thanks in part to their strength from the charity stripe as they shot 91% from the free throw line, knocking down 10 of 11 attempted shots.

With the win, the Clan found themselves moving forward to compete the following night for the GNAC championship title

On Saturday, March 9, SFU battled the number one seed in the conference, the Western Washington University Vikings.  Unfortunately the Clan was not able to slay the top team, suffering a 60-40 loss.

Raincock-Ekunwe led the team with another double-double, scoring 12 points and earning 14 boards. The senior forward earned eight of those points from the free throw line, shooting a perfect 8 for 8.

Beyond-the-arc shooting proved to be the SFU’s Achilles’ heel as the team only knocked down two of 11 shots (18%) from three-point range.

The end of the tournament closed out the team’s conference play, giving the team a 15-4 GNAC record.

In the most recent poll, SFU sat at the number two spot in the NCAA West Region.