(Halifax, N.S.) The CIS No. 5 Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 61-38 Wednesday evening from the Homburg Centre in Atlantic University Sport women's basketball action.
Rachelle Coward paced the Huskies with 23 points on 9-20 shooting night. The 5th year Dartmouth, NS native went 3-9 from three-point land.
Halfway thru the first quarter SMU took a 8-7 lead before Dal used a nine point run to jump ahead 16-8 with 2:24 left.
The Tigers ended the quarter up 16-10.
Two quick SMU buckets within the first minute had the Huskies within one, trailing 18-17 before a Tiger basket gave Dalhousie a three point cushion.
The Huskies scored the final 13 points of the quarter and took a 28-18 halftime lead.
The Huskies' smothering defence continued into the third, limiting the Tigers to 10 points compared to SMU's 24. Saint Mary's held a 52-28 advantage after 30 minutes.
The fourth quarter was a see-saw affair as both teams managed only 19 points in the frame, with the Tigers edging out a slim 10-9 quarter score.
The Huskies held on for the 61-38 victory.
Tessa Stammberger led Dalhousie with 13 points in the loss, including six in the opening quarter.
The Kensington, P.E. native went 2-3 from three-point land and 3-3 from the foul-line.
Ainsley MacIntyre (Sydney, NS) added nine points and Diedre Alexander (Woodstock, NB) five, for Dal who drops to 3-2 on the year.
A trio of Huskies added eight points apiece on the night: Katrina Murrell (Markham, ON), Bedford native Laura Langille and Shanieka Wood (Ajax, ON).
Kennisha-Shanice Luberisse (Montreal) chipped in four SMU points and Jenny Lewis (Halifax) added three for the Huskies.
Dalhousie hits the road versus Acadia on November 21, and the Huskies improves to 4-0 and travels to UNB for a pair on November 27 and 28.
SMU communications, photo Nick Pearce