Dalhousie Downs Brock 67-60 in Tournament Opener

In U SPORTS women's basketball exhibition action, the Dalhousie Tigers defeated the Brock Badgers 67-60 in the second game of the 2017 Lawtons Centennial Women's Basketball Tournament at the Dalplex in Halifax.

In the first quarter, the Tigers had an early 5-0 run. They led 13-8 at one point until the Badgers mounted a 9-4 run of their own in the late stages of the quarter. This resulted in a 17-17 tie after the first.

The second quarter saw both teams play pretty evenly. Dalhousie managed to accumulate a 28-24 lead with about three and half minutes left in the first half, but the Badgers fought back to tie the game with 30 seconds left. A late free throw from Brock gave them a 31-30 lead after 20 minutes.

As the second half got underway, the play remained tight with neither team not giving very much. Brock led 49-47 in the last minute when the Tigers got a basket with about 30 seconds left to make it a 49-49 tie. There was a wild sequence in the last seven seconds with Brock trying to take the lead off an inbounds pass, but didn't convert leaving the game tied after three quarters.

As the fourth quarter began, Dalhousie got off to a great start with a 9-0 run in the first three minutes. Brock did fight back and got it to as close as 62-58 with three minutes left. However, a shot clock violation on the Badgers with about 2 and a half minutes left ended the comeback attempt as the Tigers took back control to get the victory.

Diedre Alexander (Woodstock, NB) led the Tigers with 12 points and added eight rebounds and four assists. Ashley Cain (Toronto, ON) also helped the offensive charge with 10 points, while also contributing seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Shannon Northey (Mississauga, ON) led all scorers with 15 points, while also chipping in eight boards for the Badgers. Kristin Gallant (Halifax, NS) put up 12 points and five rebounds for Brock as well.

In the first game of tournament, the Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the Bishop's Gaiters 64-59. Shanieka Wood (Ajax, ON) led the way for the Huskies with 15 points and seven rebounds. Marie Evardine (Montreal, QC) and Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, QC) were the top scorers for Bishop's with 15 points each. Play continues tomorrow with Bishop's playing Brock at 5:00 pm and Dalhousie taking on Saint Mary's at 7:00pm.