Monday, November 28, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – Simon Fraser women’s basketball defeated four non-conference teams in the span of five days and earned the Red Lion/GNAC Team of the Week award.

The Clan, now on an eight-game winning streak, started the week in Northern California with two wins over PacWest programs before returning home for the first time this season for two wins against Cal Poly Pomona.

On Tuesday, Simon Fraser scored 27 fourth-quarter points to defeat Dominican 78-75. Freshman Ozi Nwabuko had only taken 13 shots in her collegiate career going into the game, but she led the team with 22 points and nine rebounds. Elisa Homer added 20 points as the two players combined for over half of the Clan’s points.

The next day, SFU traveled to San Francisco to face Academy of Art, blowing out the Urban Knights, 76-51. Ellen Kett had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the victory, while Samantha Beauchamp came off the bench to record seven points, 13 rebounds and two steals.

On Friday, the Clan played its home opener in front of 600 people for a 68-50 win over Cal Poly Pomona. Nwabuko went 8 for 11 from the field for a team-high 19 points, while Meg Wilson chipped in 12 points and four steals.

The Clan beat the Broncos again the next day for its eighth consecutive win, 56-47. For the fourth game in a row, Nwabuko was the leading scorer with 13 points to go along with six rebounds. Simon Fraser thrived defensively in the final game, forcing the Broncos into 26 turnovers with a 38.6 shooting percentage from the field. Kett recorded five steals while Wilson had three. Wilson led the GNAC in steals for the week with 11.

Nwabuko entered the week with 19 career points and hadn’t made a field goal since becoming a starter, but the 5-11 forward tallied 69 points and 22 rebounds in the four wins, leading the team in scoring in all four games. She became the first freshman in the conference this year to earn the GNAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor.

“Ozi is settling in nicely,” Simon Fraser head coach Bruce Langford said. “She was a very good high school defender and we thought she would be able to do that for us. She struggled a bit in the first week adjusting to the NCAA rules but she is adjusting quite nicely and is starting to find her was on offense so she is off to a good start. She is a quick athlete so she gets fouled a lot and has been able to get to the line where she is having success shooting the free throw.”

The Clan will go to Alaska this week to begin conference play against West Region No. 2 Alaska Anchorage on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Clan will play against the Nanooks.

“Last year we opened the season against Alaska Anchorage at home,” Langford said, “and when we played them they had many games under their belt and we were on our fourth. I didn’t feel like we were anywhere near the same competitive level they were. This year it’s reversed a little bit. We’ve played more games than they have but they are a very good team and we need to play our best.”