BURNABY, B.C. - Each time the #1 ranked Simon Fraser University Clan women's basketball team has played the #8 ranked and defending CIS National Champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds this season, the Clan have needed a second half rally to defeat UBC. That trend continued on Friday night, as the Clan battled back from a 26-24 halftime deficit to defeat the Thunderbirds 62-58 to win game one of their best-of-three Pacific Division Final series in the West Gym. Game two is scheduled for Saturday night at 7 pm (Clan Radio, CKNW.com), while if necessary game three will be played at 1 pm on Sunday afternoon.

"We shot the ball horrendously tonight," said SFU head coach Bruce Langford. "But we played well enough defensively, particularly in the second and third quarter, to be able to earn a win."

The play of the night came with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Matteke Hutzler (Napanee, Ont.) on the free throw line with the Clan up by one-point (59-58). UBC's Lia St. Pierre had just connected on a lay-up following an SFU turnover, and on the ensuing inbound Candace Morriset fouled Hutzler to send her to the free throw line. Hutzler connected on the first free throw, however missed the second, but the Clan's Laurelle Weigl (Stony Plain, AB) was able to pull down the offensive rebound, getting the put-back to fall to ensure the SFU victory.

"It was a fantastic rebound," said Langford. "She stayed with the play and put herself in a position to make it."

SFU had used an 11-to-2 run midway through the third quarter, keyed by six-points from bench players Kelsey Horsting (Langley, B.C.) and Kate Hole (St. Albert, AB) to take only their third lead of the night, as the Clan had struggled for most of the evening shooting from the field and led by eight (45-37) heading into the final quarter. In the fourth, SFU was able to extend their lead to their largest of the game (48-39) after Robyn Buna (Kelowna, B.C.) connected on her first three-pointer of the night. The Thunderbirds refused to go away, and cut the gap to one-point (50-49) following a 13-to-5 run which featured four points from Zara Huntley.

The story of the first half was UBC's ability to contest SFU's shots, as the Clan shot a paltry 9-for-33 from the floor over the first 20 minutes. UBC led by as much as six in the first half, and SFU held the lead only once, midway through the second quarter. By halftime, Huntley had already scored ten points and seven rebounds, but despite their blistering defence, the Thunderbirds had committed 16 turnovers on the offensive end.

Weigl closed the night as the Clan's leading scorer, shooting 6-for-12 from the field for 16 points, while adding four rebounds and two steals. Buna and Courtney Gerwing (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) also reached double-figures in scoring, registering 11 and ten points respectively, despite shooting a combined 5-for-33 from the field. The pair however made all ten of their combined free throws, while the Clan as a team shot 16-for-19 from the free throw line.

The loss negated an outstanding performance by Huntley, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 2:50 left in the fourth quarter. Leanne Evans added a double-double for UBC, who registered 13 points and 14 rebounds.

The two teams rematch tomorrow night at 7 pm in SFU's West Gym.

Game notes: With 2:50 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Laurelle Weigl on the free throw line, the fire alarm went off in SFU's Chancellor's Gymnasium complex and the West Gym needed to be cleared. It was a false alarm, and play resumed after each team was given a three-minute warm-up? SFU has defeated UBC all four times during the 2008-09 season, and has won seven straight games over the Thunderbirds? There were five lead changes in total? SFU's bench outscored UBC's 17-to-6, while UBC outscored SFU in the paint 44-to-32? UBC committed 31 turnovers in total, while the Clan only committed 18.

Source:

Scott McLean, BBA, MSA
Media, Broadcast and Sports Information Director
Simon Fraser University Clan At