Veinot's 20 Not Enough
(HALIFAX, NS) In a battle of the top two teams in Atlantic University Sport, the UNB REDS came up short in an 82-50 loss to the Saint Mary's Huskies, Friday night in Halifax.
UNB's Jayda Veinot (Port Williams, NS) led all scorers with 20 points in the loss, giving her 1606 in her storied Atlantic University Sport career. That moves her into the top ten, to 9th, on the AUS all-time (regular season) scoring list.
"What a historic night for Jayda," said REDS' head coach Erin McAleenan. "She is, undoubtedly, one of the best all-time players in U SPORTS women's basketball."
After a fairly even first quarter that saw the home team grab a 20-16 lead, the Huskies shut the REDS down in the second quarter.
Saint Mary's limited UNB to just five second quarter points to lead 43-21 at the half.
The Huskies' held the REDS off in the second half, adding another ten points to their lead for the 32-point victory.
"We had a tough start tonight," said Coach McAleenan. "We didn't control the pace or the boards at all. I thought we were very hesitant offensively, which is rare for us."
Lucy Beaumont (Fredericton, NB) scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Huskies.
Courtney Donaldson (Kelowna, BC) had 16 points as well for SMU and Alaina McMillan (Brantford, ON) scored 14.
Four of the Huskies' five starters scored in double digits.
Erin Ingalls (St. George, NB) scored 10 for UNB and pulled down six rebounds, while Leah Travers (Calgary, AB) added 12 points, going 4-for-8 from three-point range. Travers was the only player off the UNB bench to record a basket.
Katie Butts (Ottawa, ON) had six rebounds.
"Give full credit to the Saint Mary's defense. I thought they really took us out of our flow," said Coach McAleenan.
With the loss, the REDS are now 13-3 and tied with the Huskies atop the AUS standings.
The REDS continue their weekend road swing in Wolfville, on Saturday, taking on the Acadia Axewomen. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm.
The Huskies will host Acadia on Thursday in another 6:00pm start.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics with files from SMU Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Mona Ghiz/for SMU Athletics