Halifax, NS – In mid-week basketball action, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the StFX X-Women at the Dalplex. A strong defensive second quarter allowed the Tigers to get out to a lead that was good enough to give them a 79-66 win.
The Tigers opened up the game with some tough pressure defense that gave the X-Women a hard time getting out of their own end in the first quarter.
The X-Women were in a tough spot on dead ball plays, but when they were able to move in transition, their ball movement opened up wide open threes for Brianna Gottschall (Antigonish, NS) and Kimberly Kingsbury (Nepean, ON) to keep the score tight early.
The Tigers shooting went cold to end the quarter, and the X-Women were able to capitalize by taking over the lead with Jamie McCarron (New Glasgow, NS) knocking down another shot from deep, and Kingsbury was able to beat the buzzer with a quick layup to make it 20-13.
The Tigers cut into the deficit and regained the lead once again early in the second quarter, started off by a great pass from Diedre Alexander (Woodstock, NB) to find Sophie Gaube (Hubley, NS) at the three-point line and she was able to knock it down.
They got some young players in on the action in the quarter, with rookies Riley Sood (Halifax, NS) and Bridget McSwiggen (Ottawa, ON) getting in on the offense to increase the Tigers lead.
It was a tough quarter for the X-Women as they were shooting well from deep, but were struggling to get the inside shots to fall, resulting in them only scoring nine points in the quarter.
At the half time buzzer, the Tigers held a 39-29 lead.
The teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter, with the Tigers making an early run led by some aggressive drives by Alexander, and McSwiggin continuing to score down low in the post as the lead extended all the way to 19.
The X-Women fought back in the quarter however, with Kingsbury getting it started with a shot from deep, and Gottschall getting to the hoop on back to back plays.
Gottschall knocked down one more jumper in the dying seconds to cut the lead to 11, as the Tigers led 59-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
The X-Women were determined to live or die by the three, and it was working early in the fourth, with Kingsbury and Griffin Lack-Shane (Waterloo, ON) each hitting one in back to back possessions.
The Tigers were able to settle back in on defense, and regain their sizable lead midway through the quarter by attacking the paint with Robertha Charles (Montreal, QC) and Lia Kentzler (Gottingen, GER).
As the final buzzer rang, the Tigers secured the 79-66 victory.
Kimberly Kingsbury led the X-Women with a game-high 22 points, with Brianna Gottschall right behind her with 18. Sophie Gaube led the Tigers with 16 points on 4-8 shooting from deep and five rebounds to go along with it, giving her the Subway Player of the Game title.
The two teams will face off again on Saturday afternoon as the second matchup of a home and home series, traveling to StFX. Tip-off is 1:00 pm at the StFX Oland Centre.
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Recap Courtesy Kirk Jessome, Dalhousie Sports Information