V-Reds Sharpe against Capers

Just how much does Amanda Sharpe mean to the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds' women's basketball team?

The fifth-year post from Fredericton was hugged by her own coach before Saturday's game and embraced by the opposition coach afterwards.

Sharpe drove for 23 points to spark the V-Reds to a thrilling 71-68 four-point win in a first-place showdown before 900 fans at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym.

It was the final women's basketball game at the Pit, with the Reds finally moving into the Richard J. Currie Center in the fall. UNB and CBU both have 14-4 records, but the V-Reds moved four points ahead in the AUS standings.

Before the game, UNB coach Jeff Speedy became emotional after saluting Sharpe and fellow senior Leah Corby.

"He thought it was funny I was comforting him," Sharpe said. "I just told him, 'Let's go kick butt. This is what I've worked for for five years.' I used the kind words from him and my teammates to get me ready and get me going."

After the post-game handshakes, Capers' coach Fabian McKenzie stopped Sharpe to praise her.

"If we can hold Amanda to 23, we did well. She's good for 30 sometimes, or more," McKenzie said. " She's made herself a phenomenal player - one of the best in the CIS. I made a point to stop and tell her that."

Sharpe did her damage despite having to get around an oak tree planted in the post, namely six-foot-two Denisha Haywood.

"It was my teammates," said the six-foot Sharpe, who also had to battle six-foot-three Stephanie Toxopeus on occasion. "I've said it so much. I don't know how they get me the ball sometimes. I'm really undersized, especially compared to Cape Breton's posts.

"They (teammates) do such a great job getting me the ball as soon as I'm open," Sharpe said.

"I need to dump on Amanda," Speedy said with a smile. "She played great but I think she left about 10 points out there. We're really trying to get her to go off two feet and use more fakes. Against bigger girls, that's what she has to do. But she showed the heart of a lion. She took it in there against those big girls and didn't back down at all."

"I don't know if I've ever played against someone who has blocked me that much," Sharpe said of Haywood, "so lots of props to her. They're really good defenders so I had to use all my moves tonight."

Haywood hauled down 20 - yes, twenty - defensive rebounds to go with 10 points and five blocks. Jahlica Kirnon heated up in the second half to contribute 23 points, nine boards and five steals. Kari Everett grabbed 13 rebounds and scored 17 points.

"We did a good job after a shaky first half," Haywood said.

Sharpe's efforts were complemented by Leah Corby's 16 points, eight apiece from Megan Corby and Claire Colborne and a pair of three-pointers by Laura Fowler, which helped the Reds go on a 14-1 run to enter halftime with a 40-27 lead. UNB still led by a dozen, 56-44, late in the third quarter but Kirnon hit a long jumper with 1:56 left to reduce the Reds' lead to 68-66.

After Emma Russell rejected Everett - fouled, McKenzie argued to no avail - with 38 seconds left, Leah cut in to deposit a superb pass by older sister Megan with 18.3 seconds remaining for a 70-66 lead. Everett scored while falling backwards to make it a two-point game again with 4.7 seconds to go, but a free throw by Leah capped the scoring.

Speedy wasn't surprised to see UNB's lead shrink.

"We're not beating that team by 12 points, ever," he said. "They've got it all: height, strength, athleticism, good coaching and they execute really well. I don't care if we beat them by one."

Megan Corby, who had seven assists, was returning from injury. She was an obvious asset in a key game. "Oh my gosh, Megan did an awesome job," Sharpe said.

"She's one of the best point guards in the country," Speedy said. "She does so many things that a lot of people don't even notice. Our confidence goes through the roof when she's back there.

"The two-headed monster we have with Leah and Megan playing the point is pretty hard to stop," Speedy said. "If either one of them is hurt it puts so much pressure on the other to have a perfect game. Leah rose to the challenge as the point guard last week and had some good help from Laura Fowler, but I'd just as soon go to battle with both of them."

McKenzie was upset he wasn't able to go to battle with "heart-and-soul" guard Nicole Works, who was limited to eight minutes. She was knocked out of the game with a hip injury after a collision with Colborne.

"We played hard," McKenzie said, "but all credit to them. They executed when they needed to and we lost a key player when Nikki Works went down. I thought it was a little questionable how she went down."