Monday, January 21, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Fresh off a victory over Concordia, Simon Fraser entered last week's Puget Sound road trip looking to build some momentum and move into the upper third of the GNAC standings. It did that and more, leaving the state of Washington with a pair of victories and a three-game winning streak still intact.

The Clan tipped off their week with a tight 75-72 victory in Lacey against Saint Martin's, then posted a 69-60 win at Seattle Pacific to earn the selection as GNAC Team of the Week.

Head coach Bruce Langford's team was led by guard Tayler Drynan, who averaged 16.5 points and 4.5 assists per game over the pair of victories. Drynan is the team's leader in assists this year, dishing them out at a clip of 4.1 per game.

Behind a 19-point effort off the bench from senior Sophie Swant, Simon Fraser was able to lift the lid on its week with a three-point road win against the Saints. A tight game for the duration of the evening, a trio of makes from the free throw line by Drynan and Swant in the contest's final 10 seconds allowed the Clan to leave with a 75-72 win. 

"Our ball movement and spacing contributed to us shooting the ball well and we had several different players step up at key times," said Langford. "From Thursday to Saturday, we did a much better job of taking care of the ball and competing on the offensive glass."

The trend continued on Saturday as the team controlled the contest early and jumped out to a 31-27 halftime lead in Seattle. That advantage held for the majority of the second half, and a quick 7-0 run in the game's closing minutes helped seal the deal on the team's third straight victory. 

Drynan led all scorers with 21 points in a game-high 35 minutes, helping SFU to the 69-60 decision.

"Both games last week really came down to crucial execution in the final minutes," Langford said. "We are a young team and a constant goal we've had all season is to learn and get better with each game."

There will be more opportunities for the team to get better this week, beginning against Central Washington on Thursday night in Burnaby. Langford's team will then stay home and return to action two nights later for a showdown against No. 2 Northwest Nazarene.