Thursday, March 3, 2016

LACEY, Wash. – No. 4 seed Simon Fraser used a big fourth quarter to make sure that what looked to be the fourth close ending in the first of the GNAC Basketball Championships wasn’t Thursday night as the Clan scored 29 fourth quarter points en route to a 78-67 win over No. 5 seed Central Washington in the women’s quarterfinals at Saint Martin’s University’s Marcus Pavilion.

Leading by a slim 49-47 margin after three quarters, neither team led by more than four points until the final 10 minutes when the Clan used a 12-4 run early in the period and an 11-2 run late to put the game away.

Alisha Roberts led six Simon Fraser players to score in double figures, finishing with 18 points on 5 of 7 from the field and 3 of 4 from three-point range. Elisa Homer added 14 points, Samantha Beauchamp and Sophie Swant each had 13 while Ellen Kett and Rachel Fradgley each contributed 10. Simon Fraser finished the night shooting 56 percent from the field (28-50) and 52.9 percent from three-point range (9-17).

Jasmine Parker led all scorers, pacing Central Washington with 25 points and seven rebounds. Mandy Steward, the GNAC Freshman of the Year, finished with 13 points. The Wildcats finished the evening shooting 41.9 percent from the field (26-62) and went 10 of 1 from the free throw line.

With the win, Simon Fraser (16-10 overall) will earn the right to face No. 1 Alaska Anchorage for the second time in a week’s time. The two squads will play in the final semifinal game on Friday night beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Clan stunned the Seawolves last week in Anchorage, 67-66, in the teams’ final regular season game. Central Washington closes their season at 17-12.

Neither team led by more than three points in a tightly contested first quarter until Swant’s first three-pointer of the night gave the Clan a 16-12 lead at the end of the period. The Wildcats swung the momentum the other way, taking a 32-28 lead of their own on Steward’s jumper with 3:04 left in the half. Five straight points by Kett, punctuated by a three-pointer with 2:05 to go made it a 34-32 Simon Fraser lead. Central Washington responded with a 6-0 rn over the next minute with Steward putting the Wildcats up 37-34 before Swant’s trey with 48 seconds left tied it at 37-37 at halftime.

The third quarter played out in the much the same fashion, with the Clan holding tight to a 49-47 lead going into the final period. In the fourth, though, Simon Fraser found enough energy to put it away. Roberts’ basket just over aminute into period, which sparked 12-4 run that culminated on Homer’s thtee-pointer with 5:09 to go for a 63-53 lead. The Wildcats closed back within four on Parker three-point play, but Roberts connected on a three-pointer with 3:24 left that started an 11-2 run over the next two minutes that put the game away.