(FREDERICTON, NB) In their first exhibition outing of the new season, the UNB Reds dropped a close 65-60 decision to the Laval Rouge et Or.
The game was the opening contest of the 2019 Stewart McKelvey Helen Campbell Women's Basketball Tournament, at UNB's Richard J. Currie Center.
The Reds were resilient from start to finish against a Laval team that was the runner-up at last season's U SPORTS women's basketball championship tournament.
"We're just trying to be better every game and play close games with the good teams," said fourth-year Reds guard Mikaela Dodig (Bolton, ON).
The Reds came out with strong defence and teamwork, forcing turnovers and making Laval earn every basket, coming out of the first quarter with a 14-12 lead.
Laval would bounce back in the second to lead 31-27 at the half.
UNB held Laval to 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in the half.
The Reds would continue to hold their own in the third despite Laval adding to their lead 46-38.
The Reds would tie it 49-49 with less than six minutes left, but could not surpass the deficit in the final minutes.
"We can't relax on defence, we've just got to make sure that we're doing every little detail to beat a good team," said Dodig.
Dodig led the Reds with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Katie Daley (Hanwell, NB) had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Kim Letang (Quebec City, QC) led Laval with 15 points and four rebounds while Maude Archambault (Quebec City, QC) had 13 points.
Both teams play their second game of the tournament on Saturday. The Reds take on the University of Winnipeg Wesmen at 6:00pm and Laval plays the Dalhousie Tigers at 8:00pm.
RECAP BY: Jonathon James/for UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics