Antigonish, NS - The UNB Reds cruised to a 79-37 victory over the StFX X-Women on Saturday night at the Oland Centre, their seond win in as many nights.
The X-Women had good play from Brianna Gottschall (Antigonish, NS) and Kim Kingsbury (Nepean, ON) in the first quarter, but a 9-0 Reds' run established a 15-6 lead the young X-Women side could not overcome. The Reds used excellent play from Eva Tumwine (Fredericton, NB) and Ja'Yon Leak (Charlotte, NC) to put X under pressure.
The second quarter was all Reds as the forwards and guards shared the spoils of a 24 point quarter. Leak, once again, was superb on both sides of the court and substitute Krystal Osburn, from the lesser known Nottawa, Ont. contributed five key points for the cause.
The score at the break was 42-15 in favour of UNB.
The second half saw continued dominance for the Reds, with Tumwine acting as the guiding influence for Leak, Marley Curwin (Halifax, ON) to show their skill on the AUS stage. For StFX, with the result a foregone conclusion, their young players also took centre stage. Emma Norris (Edmonton, AB) was excellent in the paint and Gottschall continued her fine play; however, it was young Lucia MacKay (New Glasgow, NS), with her confident and aggressive play, that distinguished her as a player to watch for the rest of the season.
After a tough second and third quarter, the X-Women found their form in the fourth quarter and scored 16 points compared to the Reds 20. There was real purpose to X's play as McKay marshalled her troops. The X-Women ran through a number of nice sets and one particular set on the offensive end led to a poised three-point shot by Griffin Lack-Shane that should give all X fans reason to watch this young team improve throughout the season. For UNB, Grace Simpson (Fredericton, NB) gave an assured performance and rookie Julia Summers (Calgary, AB) showed great vision as she drove the lane for two nice baskets.
Ja'Yon Leak led all scorers in the game, finishing with 16 points on the night for UNB, while Simpson and Tumwine contributed 14 apiece. Off the bench, Osborn contributed 11 points and six rebounds, earning Subway player of the game recognition for her efforts. Reds wing Grace Simpson was the leading rebounder on the night with nine, while Tumwine hauled in eight boards.
Kimberly Kingsbury (Nepean, ON) led StFX with 13 points and five rebounds. Lack-Shane added six and Gottschall and MacKay each scored five. Gottschall and Nalini Maharaj (East Bay, NS) each had five rebounds for the home team.
Next on the AUS schedule sees the Reds host their home-opening games next weekend, November 9-10 as Dalhousie is in town. Both games start at 6:00 pm. The X-Women will travel to Sydney on November 10th to face the Capers, also at 6:00 pm.
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Courtesy Bart Sears, StFX Sports Information