Huskies win Lawton’s Centennial Women’s Basketball Tournament

(Halifax, NS)  The Huskies captured the Lawton's Centennial Women's Basketball Tournament hosted by Dalhousie with 3 wins over Bishops, Dalhousie and Brock.

In the first game of tournament, the Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the Bishop's Gaiters 64-59. Shanieka Wood (Ajax, ON) led the way for the Huskies with 15 points and seven rebounds. Marie Evardine (Montreal, QC) and Ashley Milhomme (Repentigny, QC) were the top scorers for Bishop's with 15 points each. Play continues tomorrow with Bishop's playing Brock at 5:00 pm and Dalhousie taking on Saint Mary's at 7:00pm.

On day two, the Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 55-49 in the fourth game of the 2017 Lawtons Centennial Women's Basketball Tournament at the Dalplex in Halifax.

In the first quarter, Saint Mary's got out to a quick 9-4 lead. They kept up the fast pace despite a couple of attempts by the Tigers to halt the momentum. Saint Mary's had two nine points leads during the quarter, finishing up with a 16-10 lead after the first.

The second quarter saw more of the same with the Huskies continuing their good play. Dalhousie tried to mount some attacks to narrow the deficit, but the Huskies led by as many as 12 at 24-12 with about six minutes left in the half. Saint Mary's was able to sustain their first half success by taking a 34-21 lead into halftime.

At the start of the second half, the Huskies were able to carry over their stellar play from the first half. Saint Mary's got their lead back up to 14 at 48-34 with about two minutes left in the quarter. However, a Dalhousie three pointer late in the third made the score 48-37 after 30 minutes.

As the fourth quarter got underway, the Tigers looked to get back into it as they had a 4-0 run in the first three minutes. But, the Huskies responded promptly with a 7-2 to run of their own to make it 55-43 with about three minutes left in the quarter. Dalhousie got it to as close as 55-49 in the last minute, but Saint Mary's was able to seal the win with a converted free throw in the final seconds.

Kennisha-Shanice Luberisse (Montreal, QC) led all scorers with 20 points, while also chipping in 7 rebounds, to power the Huskies offence. Courtney Cain-Nordin (Halifax, NS) contributed eights points, four rebounds, two assists, and a steal for Saint Mary's.  Luberisse was named tournament MVP. 

Robertha Charles (Montreal, QC) led the Tigers with 15 points and 11 rebounds for a double double. Diedre Alexander (Woodstock, NB) and Michele Tchiakoua (Montreal, QC) had 8 points each for Dalhousie.

Day Three - Saint Mary's was able to sweep the tournament with a 69-54 win over the Brock Badgers. The Huskies were led by Kennisha-Shanice Luberisse (Montreal, QC) with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. Brock was led by Courtney McPherson (Welland, ON) with 9 points and 6 rebounds in the game. Saint Mary's will continue their preseason this Friday at SNHU, while Brock will also play Friday, in a tournament at Laval.