Antigonish, NS - The UNB Reds defeated the StFX X-Women by a convincing 69-40 score in the AUS season opener Friday night on Coach K Court at the StFX Oland Centre.
The first quarter of play was an even affair with UNB taking an early lead, but X grew into the game. Reds' forward Eva Tumwine, (Fredericton, ON) was a presence down low, but got into foul trouble and had to sit out most of the first half. The score after one quarter was 20-16 in favour of the visitors.
The game was close at half-time, with UNB taking a 32-27 lead into the break. There were a number of fine rookie performances. Ja'Yon Leak (Charlotte, NC) had nine points at the half for the Reds, and X-Woman Nalini Maharaj (East Bay, N) had ten.
Reds wing Jane Boyle (Halifax, NS) played strong basketball on both ends of the floor and created a lot of space and opportunities for her teammates to build a lead on the X-Women. However, Mikaela Dodig (Bolton, ON) was strong with 12 points in the half, and her play on and off the ball foreshadowed a difficult second half for the X-Women.
The second half was a Reds wave as the trio of Dodig, Boyle and Grace Simpson (Fredericton, NB) combined for 20 third quarter points. Unfortunately for the X-Women, Caroline Hrabinski (Toronto, ON) picked up her fourth foul early in the third and the Reds took full advantage of the loss of the X's floor general. It was a complete team effort as UNB controlled the tempo of the game and were able to get numerous open looks for high percentage shots.
The fourth quarter saw numerous substitutions for both teams, which gave UNB's young stars to shine. Marley Curwin (Halifax, NS) controlled the game nicely from the back court and paired nicely with fellow rookie Katie Daley (Fredericton, NB). On one particular play Curwin fed a great pass to Daley on the baseline who proceeded to make a great shot for a highlight reel play. StFX finished the game with a bit of a flourish of points, but wrapped up the game on the downside of the 69-40 final score line.
Dodig finished the night as the game's top scorer with 20 points and took home Subway player of the game honours.. Boyle had a double-double night with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Simpson finished with 11 points and six boards for the Reds. Leak contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
StFX player of the game Kimberly Kingsbury was the leading scorer for the X-Women with 14 points on the night, along with eight rebounds. Maharaj, off the bench netting 10 points.
The same two teams will tip-off again tomorrow evening in Antigonish at 6:00 pm.
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Courtesy Bart Sears, StFX Athletics