Tigers fall to Capers 76-67

Written by Wells Mayes

The Cape Breton Capers roared back in the second half after a slow start to defeat the Dalhousie Tigers 76-67 at Dalplex on Friday night.

the Tigers leapt out to an early lead, taking the first quarter 22-16. This was in large part due to Dalhousie's bench, which outscored the Capers 6-0 in this opening stanza after baskets from fourth-year post Karina Sarai (Surrey, BC), fifth-year forward Madelyn White (Bolton, ON) and third-year guard Sarah Valley (Regina, SK). For the visitors, forward Kiyara Letlow (Toronto, ON) led the way early, filling the stat sheet with seven points, three rebounds, and an assist and a steal apiece to keep Cape Breton in the fight.

Dalhousie led by eight at the half with a score of 39-31 after a close second quarter that closely mirrored the first. Letlow continued her scoring spree with double-digit points in the second frame, while Dal continued to work by committee. This quarter saw starting guard Sydney Guker-Wickie (Kitchener, ON) cash in on two three-pointers to lead the team in scoring, while Simona Matic (Belgrade, Serbia) pulled down a pair of rebounds and dished out a couple of assists.

Cape Breton began the second half on a 14-2 run, snatching the lead for the first time tonight. Hannah Smith (Bedford, NS) took over for the undefeated Capers as they outscored the home team 30-10, shooting 68% from the field in what was ultimately the game's pivotal quarter. Conversely, Dal only shot 20% on their attempts in this third period, converting only one of six three-point shots and leaving the Tigers down by a total of 12 points as the fourth quarter started.

The final quarter began promisingly for Dalhousie, as Kaitlyn Ferrier (Calgary, AB) got the hot hand, putting up 7 points on the bounce to bring the Tigers within arms' reach. However, this momentum was unceremoniously snuffed out as a layup from Letlow and a jumper from Amanda Cruickshank (Montreal, QC) pushed the margin back up to nine with five minutes to play. Both teams would trade baskets until the final buzzer saw the Capers continue their perfect season, escaping with a gritty nine-point win.

Leaders for the Capers were Letlow with 29 points and 17 rebounds, and guard Yuma Soma (Tokyo, Japan) with five assists. For the Tigers, it was Ferrier with 23 points, while Matic led with five assists and Samantha Manieri (Toronto, ON) with 10 boards.

Letlow was named the player of the game.

The Capers improve to 5-0 on the season, while Dal tumbles down to the foot of the standings at 0-5 so far this year.

A rematch of tonight's game will be on tomorrow evening at 6 PM AST.