All spectators in the Dalplex unknowingly bought tickets to the Courtney Thompson show on Friday night at the Dalplex. Thompson went 11-11 from the line and had a game-high 23 points.
The Dalhousie Tigers used a strong third quarter surge to power past the UPEI Panthers 65-58.. The win improves the Tigers above .500 to 8-7, while the Panthers are now under .500 with a 7-8 record.
Amy Gough had a team-high 20 points in the loss for the Panthers.
The Tigers recovered from a poor 32.3% shooting percentage from the field, and used their big advantage on the glass to get the hard fought victory.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, shooting 50% from beyond the arc. In the dying seconds, Tessa Stammberger grabbed an offensive board after a missed three from Courtney Thompson, and swung it to a wide open Robbi Daley, who drained the wide open three as time expired.
The Panthers picked up the defensive intensity early in the second quarter, forcing Daley to commit two turnovers in the first two minutes of the frame.
Amy Gough got hot offensively in the second quarter, knocking down jumpers on consecutive possessions, helping the Panthers get off to a 11-2 run, tying the game at 23. After taking a tough foul from Shaylyn Fields on her way to the basket, Gough hit both of her free throws to give the Panthers a 25-23 lead.
Both teams started to find their groove offensively late in the second quarter, trading buckets and trading leads. Shaylyn Field got a little too aggressive defensively and drew a blocking foul late, giving the Panthers the final possession with 13.5 seconds left. After a quick timeout called by Greg Gould, Tamara Tompkins drove the lane but couldn't convert on the tough contested layup as the buzzer sounded. Despite the miss, the Panthers still held a 32-30 lead going into the second half.
The Tigers came out of the half with a bang, rattling off a 13-2 run right off the bat, as they drove the lane ferociously and worked the ball around the perimeter to get good, clean looks. Courtney Thomson got things going a minute into the third quarter, crossing over her defender on her way to an easy layup, tying the game at 32. Ainsley MacIntyre followed up with a triple to help Dal regain their lead.
Darcy Zinck hit a three to close the gap to three, but Tessa Stammberger answered with a jumper of her own to give the Tigers a 50-45 lead going into the final ten minutes of play.
Korenda Colley kicked things off in the fourth quarter when she got an open look right in the paint after a nice spin move to shake her defender.
Laura Power notched a three wth 5:35 left in the fourth to cut the deficit to three, and the Panthers surged, exposing weak perimeter defense by the Tigers.
Rebecca Nuttall got to the line with 1:20 left and missed her second shot after converting the first. Stammberger grabbed the offensive board to give the Tigers a 61-56 lead with just over a minute remaining.
Amy Gough got called for the reach on Courtney Thompson with 45.9 seconds remaining, and Thompson made the Panthers pay, hitting both of her shots from the charity stripe.
Thompson was then fouled with 14 seconds left, sealing the 65-58 victory for the Tigers.
The teams will do battle again tomorrow night when they tip off at 6:00pm at the Dalplex.