The X-Women basketball team will be back on the court for exhibition action this weekend at the first annual Thunder Select CIS Holiday Classic tournament in Halifax. All games will take place at the Saint Mary’s Homburg Centre.
X-Women head coach Augy Jones, in his first season behind the X bench, comments, “I am very excited to get back to playing basketball immediately after Christmas. Both the players and coaches have had a chance to recharge and reflect on the first half of the season, which I feel was very helpful for the entire program.”
Jones continues, “We are pleased to have Vanessa Pickard back in the lineup for the first time this season. She is a fantastic player who will be integrating herself into a team that has several other talented players and I am looking forward to seeing her play for the X-Women.”
The X-Women will open tournament action on Friday afternoon, December 29th against the CIS ranked No. 6 Acadia Axewomen at 4:00 pm. The game will serve as a rematch for the two teams as StFX defeated the Acadia in a close 74-73 game on November 28th in Wolfville, NS to earn four points in their final AUS regular season game prior to the holiday break.
The X-Women closed out the first half of the season with a 4-3 record and are currently tied for second place in the AUS conference with Dalhousie (5-2) as both teams have 14 points apiece. Acadia is close behind in fourth with 12 points and a 5-1 record. Saint Mary’s (7-0) leads the league with 20 points and will also be competing in the CIS Holiday Classic, as are Dalhousie.
Joining the four AUS teams in the exhibition tournament are the Lakehead Thunderwolves from the OUA conference and the Manitoba Bisons from Canada West. Lakehead is currently in sixth place in the OUA west division with a 3-4 record, while the Bisons are seventh in the Canada West Prairie division with a 2-9 record.
The X-Women will meet the Thunderwolves Saturday at 4:00 pm, then follow up with a 12:00 pm game Sunday against Manitoba. All teams will play three games in the six-team event and all games will be webcast live at the following link: http://live.streamit.ca/?player=49.