FREDERICTON, NB – The Accreon Helen Campbell Tournament continued with game number four for the women's teams as the UNB Reds defeated the Lethbridge Pronghorns 77-68.
The Varsity Reds came into this game with a win over UofT Varsity Blues while the Pronghorns lost their first game against St.FX.
UNB's Grace Wade had 25 points, went 5-5 on free throws and 6-11 three-pointers; she was rewarded with player of the game honors.
Lethbridge's Mariah Miller was also player of the game with 20 points, 6-8 free throws and four rebounds.
The first quarter got off to a slow start and it was almost two minutes before the Pronghorns managed a three pointer to put a score on the board.
Once the women got in the grove they traded point for point and the first quarter saw a 24-23 lead for Lethbridge.
In the second quarter both teams came out shooting well and playing a fast break game. It was three-point shots and free throws that kept both teams in the game. Lethbridge scored eight points from turnovers while UNB had 12. Score all tied up at 38.
"The seemed a little hungrier than we did and we seemed a step behind. When you have twice as many fouls as the other team it's easy to blame the officials - it wasn't them. We were a step behind so we were forced to hold and drag and do silly things to make up for the fact that we were making poor decisions on defense.
The third quarter saw UNB all over the offensive glass as the V-Reds broke it open to go ahead by 13 to a 61-48 lead. The Varsity Reds grabbing a further eight points from Pronghorn turnovers while UNB kept their turnovers to just three.
In the fourth and final quarter Lethbridge had the V-Reds on their toes playing tough player-to-player defence and brought the game to within three (68-65) as UNB froze on 68 for three minutes. Then UNB began to pull away and gradually increased their lead to take the game 77-68.
"By the second half our defensive energy was a thousand times better and I thought that our effort on the rebound side of things was a thousand times better and that gave us enough separation to win."
Sunday will see UNB matched up against St. FX – both teams have two wins to their credit. The earlier women's game will have Lethbridge and Toronto looking for a win in the tournament.
"X will be a very tough test and we'll just have to be better than were today and if that's good enough that'll be awesome," said Speedy.