(ANTIGONISH, NS) The UNB REDS earned an 80-71 victory over the STFX X-Women Saturday night, in Antigonish.
The win was worth four points in the AUS standings as the REDS improved to 5-4 on the season, while the X-Women dropped to 1-9.
The X-Women opened the game with a 5-0 lead, but the REDS quickly drew even. They went up 10-7 after Kylee Speedy (Fredericton, NB) hit a three-pointer six minutes in. UNB held a 23-10 advantage after the first quarter.
The visitors expanded their lead in the second and were up by as much as 16 points midway through the quarter.
The X-Women fought their way back and after Ekaterina Karchevskaya (Mogilev, Belarus) hit a three with just over a minute left, the home team trailed by four points, 36-32.
The X-Women outpaced the REDS 26-18 in the second quarter, though it was UNB up 41-36 at halftime as Speedy led the way scoring 11 points. Last season's AUS MVP, and former Acadia Axewoman, Jayda Veinot (Port Williams, NS) scored nine.
For the X-Women, Karchevskaya scored 12 points, all from three-point range, while Aliyah Fraser (New Glasgow, NS) netted nine first half points.
The third quarter was closely contested as neither team held more than a six-point lead. The REDS held a slight 19-18 point tally in the quarter and lead 59-55 after 30 minutes.
The REDS maintained their six-point lead throughout the first four minutes of the final quarter. They opened up a 10-point lead, but the X-Women chipped away.
Time was not on the home team's side, however, as they could not close the gap. UNB was up by 11 points, 78-67 with just over a minute to play and closed out the game with the 80-71 win.
Katie Butts (Ottawa, ON) had a double-double for the REDS with 20 points and 10 rebounds and picked up Subway Player of the Game honours.
Speedy finished with 18 points, all from beyond the three-point arc, and Veinot netted 17 and added six rebounds and four steals on the night.
Fraser was the leading scorer in the game, draining 23 points for the X-Women. Karchevskaya added 22 points and five rebounds.
Tonight's game marks the final one of the first term for both teams as AUS action takes a break over the holidays.
Regular season action resumes on Friday, January 6th when STFX hosts Cape Breton and UNB hosts Saint Mary's.
RECAP BY: Krista McKenna/STFX Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Bryan Kennedy/for STFX Athletics