Ingalls Drops 29, But Acadia Drops REDS
(WOLFVILLE, NS) Despite Erin Ingalls' (St. George, NB) career high 29 points, the UNB REDS fell 83-76 to the Acadia Axewomen, Wednesday night in Wolfville.
Ingalls had a game-high 29 points and 14 rebounds for the only REDS double-double on the night. She was also efficient, shooting 12-for-13 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from the free throw line.
"What a night for Erin," said REDS' head coach Erin McAleenan. "She was in attack mode at both ends of the floor. Every time we went on a run, she was a big part of it. She is relentless on the boards and plays with so much heart."
Rio Yamazaki finished with a team-high 27 points for the Axewomen. She also pulled in three rebounds and had three assists on the night.
The REDS opened the game grabbing an early 12-point lead. Their opening quarter run was capped by a three-point jump shot from Jayda Veinot (Port Williams, NS) that pushed their lead to 20-8.
It was a slow start for the Axewomen, but they closed the gap to only four points, 22-18, after one.
Acadia outscored UNB 21-13 in the second quarter for a 39-35 lead at the half and 22-16 in the third quarter to open a 10-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
The closest UNB could get to a comeback was closing the gap to four points in the fourth quarter as Acadia snapped their two-game losing skid.
"I'm very proud of how we battled right until the end tonight," said Coach McAleenan. "We got some key points in the last few minutes and that will make a big difference."
Acadia's Elizabeth Iseyemi (Dartmouth, NS) had 17 points and 13 boards for her 15th double-double of the season. She continues to lead the AUS in scoring with 22.1 points per game, trailed closely by UNB's Veinot, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Jennifer Nkuah (Brampton, ON) grabbed a dozen rebounds for the REDS while Katie Butts (Ottawa, ON) came off the UNB bench to score 11.
The two teams wrap up their Atlantic University Sport regular season on Saturday in Fredericton, a key game for seeding at next weekend's AUS women's basketball championship. Currently Acadia is two points back of UNB for second place in the standings, meaning the winner of Saturday's game will have a bye to the semi-final round at the conference championship.
"I thought we were careless with the ball which led to too many easy buckets for Acadia," said McAleenan. "A few things to clean up before Saturday and we'll bounce back."
Tip-off, at the UNB's Richard J. Currie Center, is scheduled for 1:00pm.
RECAP: Acadia Athletics
PHOTOS: Peter Oleskevich/for Acadia Athletics