The X-Women held off a late fourth quarter surge by the UNB Varsity Reds to pull off a 77-74 victory over UNB in Fredericton Saturday night.

The Varsity Reds tied the game at 69-69 with less than two minutes to play, then took a 72-71 lead on consecutive three-pointers. The X-Women were able to come back, however and hang on for the 77-74 win, worth four points in the AUS standings.

StFX lead for the majority of the game prior to the fourth quarter. The X-Women opened with a 23-12 first quarter advantage, then led 45-34 at halftime after a 22-22 second quarter. UNB outpaced the visiting blue and white 22-15 in the third quarter as they were down by four points (60-56) after thirty minutes of play. Their comeback fell just short as the X-Women were able to hang on for the win, their sixth of the season.

Player of the game Lia St. Pierre scored 17 points in the StFX win and also had 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Vanessa Pickard notched 16 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Kiley DeLong scored 14 and had 6 rebounds. Kolbi Roper contributed 10 points and 5 rebounds as the blue and white were only 33.3% from field goal range.

StFX was 35.3% from the three-point arc and 71.9% from the free throw line. UNB was 45.8% from field goal range, 35>0% in three-point shooting and 52.0% from the free throw line.

The Varsity Reds were led by Tilly Ettinger with 21 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Claire Colborne scored 18 points and had 5 rebounds, while Rachel Cleary chipped in with 10.

The four-point victory lifted the X-Women (6-4) into second place with 22 points, two ahead of third place Dalhousie (7-2) and two behind the undefeated Saint Mary’s Huskies (9-0). StFX will travel to Halifax on Sunday, January 20th to take on the Huskies in their next game. The V-Reds drop to 1-8 on the season.