The Tigers dropped a crucial four point contest to the top ranked and undefeated Acadia Axewomen 59 - 50 as part of the Varsity Showdown. Dalhousie wasn't able to consistently break through the tough defense of Acadia.
Acadia jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead over The Tigers in the first quarter. Paloma Anderson lived up to her AUS Athlete of the Week honors, as she was a force on both sides of the ball. The Tigers got into a bit of foul trouble with five teams fouls in the 1st quarter. Acadia hit 2 threes to open up a lead from Anderson and Katie Ross. Acadia was suffocating on defense, holding the Tigers to 26.7% shooting percentage.
At the quarters end Acadia had a 19-10 lead.
Acadia continued their strong defensive play in the second quarter which allowed them to jump out to a 27-17 lead at the half. They were bolstered by two big 3 point shots from Chanel Smith and Katie Ross. The Axewoman were led by Paloma Anderson and Alexandra Berry who each had 7 points at the half. Shalyn Field led Dalhousie with 5 points.
Dalhousie started fast and opened the half on a 6-0 run to narrow the score to 27-23 for Acadia. The Tigers continued to chip away at the Axewomen's lead and were helped by committee of scoring from Diedre Alexander, Tessa Stammberger and Ainsley MacIntyre. Sophie Gaube really got the crowd into the game after making a huge three pointer while being fouled. Acadia was able to reestablish a 6 point lead with clutch free throw shooting, taking a 38-32 lead into the 4th quarter.
The Axewomen were the strong starters in the 4th quarter, coming out with a 6-0 run of their own which opened up a game high 12 point lead for Acadia. The Tigers managed to bring the lead back to 6 points but a deep three pointer by Acadia's Chanel Smith restored a 9 point advantage. That would be as close as the Tigers would get as Acadia would leave the Scotiabank Centre with a 59-50 victory.
Acadia improves to 14-0 and picks up four crucial points to increase their first place standing. Dalhousie drops to 5-9 on their season. The Tigers travel to Memorial to face the Seahawks next weekend for two games and the Axewomen will host Cape Breton University next weekend for two games of their own.