Sydney, NS – The hometown Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (1-2) earned their first victory of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women's basketball regular season with a convincing 106-71 win over the rival STFX X-Women (0-3) on Friday evening at Sullivan Field House.
The X-Women jumped out to an early 8-1 advantage in the opening two minutes of the first quarter, keyed by the play of newcomer Ekaterina Karchevskaya (Mogilev, BY), who defended Caper All-Canadian Kiyara Letlow (Toronto, ON) well on the opening possession, and then kicking off the scoring with a smooth jumper. After back-to-back three-pointers from Melina Collins (Brookside, NS) and Karchevskaya, the visitors had established the early seven-point edge.
Keyed by a nifty turnaround jumper from Hailey MacLeod (Marion Bridge, NS) and an old-fashioned and-1 three-point play from Chermensa van la Parra (Rotterdam, Netherlands), the Capers trimmed the X lead to 10-8 midway through the first stanza.
From there, CBU cranked up the defense, sank timely baskets, got out in transition and shot well from the free-throw line to finish the first quarter on a 19-4 spurt, catapulting the home side to a double-digit advantage.
Fifth-year point guard MacKenzee Ryan (Glace Bay, NS) excelled from the charity stripe, while first-year Capers Darah Fleurgin (Montreal, QC) and Claudia Pellerin (Sudbury, ON) – off the bench – scored points in the important run.
The Capers led 27-14 after the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the opponents traded hoops, with Collins meshing another three-pointer to pull the X-Women within single digits – at 34-25 – three minutes in.
After five unanswered points from the Capers, veteran guard Katie Upham (North River, NS) drained a three-pointer to cut the X-Women deficit to 39-28 midway through the quarter.
Sparked by consecutive hoops from Fleurgin, CBU's lead ballooned to 45-27 – their largest to that point of the game.
Off a dish from Pellerin, sophomore guard Leandra Hersey (Quispamsis, NB) hit a corner three-pointer to make it 50-29 for the Capers.
CBU led at 55-36 at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, after the Capers stretched their advantage to 22 points, the X-Women answered with consecutive three-pointers from Collins and Karchevskaya to make it 58-42.
Whenever the White and Blue attempted to carve into the deficit, the Capers answered – led by a sensational offensive effort in the third quarter from MacLeod, who finished with 10 points in that frame.
With four minutes remaining in the third, after another basket from Fleurgin, the CBU advantage had mushroomed to 72-42.
The Capers led 85-55 after three quarters.
Early in the fourth quarter, with Collins continuing to nail three-pointers, the X-Women were attempting to whittle away at the big lead, but they were unable to prevent the Caper penetration that helped establish the lopsided margin.
In the final 10 minutes, the X-Women could not shave the Caper lead to anything less than 28 points, having no answer for the interior attack from CBU, one led by Letlow, down the stretch.
For the game, the Capers finished with a decisive 36-10 scoring edge in the paint, while outrebounding the X-Women 47-21.
Ryan and Letlow topped the Capers with a game-high 18 points apiece, while the sophomore forward fashioned a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. Ryan also contributed six assists and three rebounds.
Six Capers finished in double digits, including Subway player of the game Fleurgin – with 17 points – Van la Parra (15), MacLeod (13), and Pellerin (10).
Collins led the X-Women with 15 points, including five hoops from downtown, while Karchevskaya chipped in 12 and Upham added 11.
The match-up was the opener of a home-and-home weekend series between the teams. They will return to the court on Sunday, Nov. 6, in Antigonish.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on Coach K Court at the Saputo Centre on the STFX campus.
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Recap courtesy Corey LeBlanc