On the strength of a 17-point second-half rally, the CIS No. 6 StFX X-Women defeated the No. 5 ranked Acadia Axewomen 24-17 in a battle of the top teams in AUS rugby.

Lauren Agnew scored the game-winning try in the final 10 minutes, with Sabrina McDaid booting her second conversion of the match.

The X-Women comeback from a 17-7 halftime deficit started with a Catherine MacKeigan try in the opening five minutes of the second half.

Danielle Robb tied the game at 17-17 with a try at the 29-minute mark. The X-Women held the Axewomen scoreless for the second half.

Acadia jumped to an early lead in front of a large Homecoming crowd of over 600 in Wolfville, which included a contingent of X-Women fans.

Riley Kitchin with a try, converted by Emilie Chiasson, opened the scoring 13 minutes into the game.

Maddie Fray extended the Axewomen lead to 12-0 with a try midway through the first half.

X-Women player of the match Zahra Batool scored the first points for the blue and white with a long open field run try scored late in the half. With a McDaid conversion, the X-Women trailed 12-7.

AUS leading scorer Emilie Chiasson left the game with a suspected knee injury and did not return.

In the final minute of the first half, Allison Jordan rumbled across the try line to give the Axewomen a 17-7 lead.

Janna Slevinsky was the player of the match for the Axewomen.

The X-Women played without several injured starters.

With the victory, the X-Women (7-1) have won seven straight matches after an opening-season 44-13 loss to the Axewomen (7-1).

Acadia gets the first place nod in the AUS conference due to a larger point differential (+14) in the two games they played against each other.

Both teams will participate as the top seeds in the Subway AUS Rugby Championships October 26-27 at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.

The semifinal matches are scheduled for noon and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. The final will kick-off Sunday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m.

Scoring Summary:
StFX:  7-17:  24
ACA:  17-0:  17

First Half
ACA – 27:00 - Riley Kitchin – try, converted by Emilie Chiasson
ACA – 18:00 – Maddie Fray – try, unconverted
StFX – 5:00 – Zahra Batool – try, converted by Sabrina McDaid
ACA – 1:00 – Allison Jordan – try, uncoverted

Second Half:
StFX - 35:00 – Catherine MacKeigen, unconverted
StFX – 29:00 – Danielle Robb, unconverted
StFX – 10:00 – Lauren Agnew, converted by Sabrina McDaid