Despite a last-minute rally by the visitors, the StFX X-Women scored a 73-70 exhibition win over the Guelph Gryphons Wednesday night at Oland Centre in Antigonish.
Vanessa Pickard, the Subway player of the game, led the home team with 25 points. "I got lucky I guess," the junior guard quipped in a post-game interview.
Pickard said her shot started to drop early, which increased her confidence. "Things started to fall for me," she added.
The Riverview, NB, native collected 18 points and five assists in the opening half.
Fifth-year guard Lia St. Pierre also hit double digits for the game with 17 points, while adding nine rebounds and eight assists.
St. Pierre led her team on the glass, although the X-Women were outrebounded 45-25 by the visitors.
The X-Women led 43-37 at halftime.
The Gryphons opened the game on a 7-0 run in the first 1:30, which led to an early timeout by X-Women head coach Augy Jones.
From there, the X-Women took a nine-point lead after a 23-7 surge.
After the first quarter, the blue and white led 23-17.
The X-Women jumped to a 52-39 advantage in the first three minutes of the third quarter, sparked by a pair of baskets from freshman Shannon Hatch, who finished with eight points.
Antigonish native Melissa Gottschall also scored eight for the winners.
In a game of runs, the Gryphons answered with an 8-1 spurt, keyed by six points from post Vanessa Rampado, who finished with eight points and eight rebounds, which trimmed the X-Women lead to 53-47.
By the end of that quarter, the blue and white led 62-51.
For the Gryphons, Katherine MacTavish and Erica McFadden hit double figures with 23 and 19 points, respectively.
The X-Women will continue pre-season action Oct. 18-20, when they travel to Alberta to compete in the University of Alberta Invitational, with games versus UBC, Regina and Alberta.
The following weekend (Oct. 25-27), the blue and white will tip-off against Acadia, UNB and UPEI, as part of the Don Grant Classic in Moncton.
The X-Women will open the AUS regular season at home, when they host the Cape Breton University Capers at Oland Centre. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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