November 23 - With six scorers reaching double figures Friday night, the No. 1 ranked Simon Fraser University Clan women’s basketball team remained undefeated in 2007, capturing their ninth win by knocking off the University of Manitoba Bisons 92-74. This is the 20th straight win for the Clan dating back to the 2007 Canada West Final Four. The win moves the Clan to 9-0 on the season while Manitoba drops to 3-4.

It was a fast start for both teams, as Manitoba scored first and SFU responded, and within the first five seconds both teams were on the board. It was back and forth for the remainder of the first quarter, as the Bisons held tough with the top ranked Clan to close a nine-point SFU lead down to five (22-17) at the first break in play. In the first, Simon Fraser second year post Kate Hole (St. Albert, AB) received her second foul four minutes into the game and was removed for the rest of the half.

The Clan led by as much as 14 points in the second quarter. Courtney Gerwing (Coquitlam, B.C.) made scoring look easy as she shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor and led all scorers at the half with 11 points. Lani Gibbons (Salmon Arm, B.C.) added eight points and five assists in the first 20 minutes, and despite 13 turnovers the Clan led 49-36 after two frames.

Simon Fraser began to pull away in the second half and led by as much as 31 points in the fourth. Hole returned to the game early in the second half after sitting for most of the first and soon led the Clan in scoring by adding 12 points in the third quarter, and finishing the game with her third straight double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds. Not far behind was Robyn Buna (Kelowna, B.C.), who added 15 points, while Lisa Tindle (Vancouver, B.C.) added 12. Gibbons finished just two assists shy of a double-double, scoring 12 points and adding eight assists. Gerwing netted 11 points while Matteke Hutzler (Napanee, Ont.) scored ten points and added seven rebounds.

“I’m most concerned about getting those rebounds,” said Hole after the game. “I’m happy about being the leading scorer but I can’t take all the credit because it reflects the ability of our guards, passers and our well rounded offence.”

For the Bisons, Melanie Schlichter led the team in scoring with 16 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the floor. Tessa Klassen added 12 points while Jenna Ralston finished with 11.

The Clan will host the University of Winnipeg tomorrow night at 7pm (Clan Radio), while the Bisons face Trinity Western.

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