Panthers win game one of weekend series vs Huskies

(HALIFAX, N.S.)—The UPEI Panthers defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies 69-46 on Friday night in Atlantic University Sport women's basketball action from the Homburg Centre.

Lauren Fleming (Sussex, NB) came off the bench for the Panthers and led all scorers with 13 points in 23 minutes of action.

Fleming, a 5-11 forward, shot 5 for 8 from the floor and went 2 for 4 from the three-point line and added five rebounds in the win.  She was named the Subway player of the game.

UPEI jumped out to an early 18-7 lead after 10 minutes and pushed their cushion to 19 after a 19-11 second quarter score to take a 37-18 lead at the half.

A 17-11 third quarter saw UPEI up 54-29 after thirty minutes.

The Huskies outscored UPEI 17-15 in the final frame and the Panthers took the 69-46 victory.

Brantford, Ontario native Alaina McMillan paced SMU with nine points and three steals while teammates Arianna Macias (Tampa, Florida) and Estelle Eduardo (Villeurbanne, Rhône-Alpes, France­) scored eight points apiece.

Jane McLaughlin (Fortune, PE) had 12 points for UPEI, who improve to 8-1 in AUS play.

Kendra MacKinnon (Pictou, NS) finished with six points off the bench for the Huskies, who drop to 1-8 on the year.

Both teams return to the Homburg Centre at 6 p.m. on Saturday as they complete their weekend series.

Dominic Nolasco, SMU Communications

Photo Nick Pearce