The Saint Mary's Huskies beat the Dalhousie Tigers 87-56 in their mid-week tilt at Dalplex.
Although the Tigers hit the first basket of the match, the Huskies got off to a fast start, building a 7-2 lead just three minutes in. Starting to come back, Sarah Valley (Regina, SK), hit a three-point shot to make it a four-point match at 11-7. Then Saint Mary's Lucina Beaumont (Fredricton, NB) got the basket to drop and drew a foul to restore the lead to six. Not long after, Alaina McMillan (Branford, ON) hit a nice three-point shot as the Huskies continued to control the game early. Aki Kobayashi (Osaka, Japan) hit another three for the Huskies before Eva Widmeyer (Dartmouth, NS) went back down the court for the Tigers as the first quarter ended 26-9 for Saint Mary's.
The Tigers came out in the second quarter hitting their shots but the Huskies were one-upping them with a three-point shot to answer after each one, growing the lead to 35-13. Saint Mary's continued to get tough shots to drop in the bucket as Courtney Donaldson (Kelowna, BC) drew a three-point play and shortly after, hit a three-point shot, extending the lead to 43-15. The Tigers showed some life with a nice crossover from Sidney Guker-Wickie (Kitchener, ON) leading to three points on the board, making it 45-19 nearing the end of the quarter. Beaumont found herself on a break with seconds left and converted perfected for a 52-26 Huskies lead at the half.
The Huskies picked up where they left off with McMillan hitting another three to make it 59-26. Not giving up, the Tigers continued to charge down the court and pick up baskets as Kaitlyn Ferrier (Calgary, AB) found a way to get a nice floater to drop making it 61-31. Saint Mary's Marlo Steenbakkers (Ottawa, ON) capped off another great run from the Huskies with a layup, followed by a long bucket from Chloe Wilson (Dartmouth, NS) to end the third 75-36.
Despite the score gap, the Tigers continued to take the ball hard to the rim to start the fourth quarter. Ferrier was fouled and nailed both free throws to make it 80-45. Dalhousie kept the push going with a nice run, bringing the game to 81-53, but the Huskies responded with a three-point shot from Aliyah Fraser (New Glasgow, NS), which they had been hitting all night. The Tigers hit one more shot at the end of the game for a final score of 87-56 for the Huskies.
Beaumont took home the Player of the Game award for the Huskies.
These two teams will meet again on Friday, Nov 10 at 6 pm, for both of their next games with the Tigers looking to bounce back and the Huskies looking to keep it rolling.