McMillan drops 26 in 77-72 win over Sea-Hawks to clinch first place

ST. JOHN'S, NL - Saint Mary's guard Alaina McMillan poured in 15 of her team-high 26 points in the second half, leading the U SPORTS #6 ranked Huskies to a 77-72 comeback win over the Memorial Sea-Hawks in Atlantic University Sport women's basketball action on Friday night at the Memorial Fieldhouse in St. John's, NL.

The first quarter saw high paced action as both teams traded buckets, with the Sea-Hawks holding a 24-22 edge after 10 minutes of play.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Courtney Donaldson hits the three! Huskies trail the Sea-Hawks 24-22 after the first quarter. Watch live: https://t.co/MCXSkfqhQK pic.twitter.com/gnjk7TmByY

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 16, 2024

Continuing on the front foot, possession by possession the Sea-Hawks grew their lead throughout the second quarter. Despite a late surge by the Huskies, Memorial held a 1-point lead at the break, 42-41. Huskies guard Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS) put up 13 first-half points for the visitors. Not to be outdone during the final home weekend of her illustrious five-year career, Alana Short (Barrie, ON) had an impressive 19 points before the teams headed to the locker rooms.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Marlo Steenbakkers finishes off the lay-in off the pass from Aki Kobayashi! Huskies trail 42-41 at half. pic.twitter.com/ZflgprJAd4

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 16, 2024

Saint Mary's grew into the game throughout the third quarter, and used 8-0 run to take the lead 58-56. The Huskies pushed the envelope further in the early stages of the fourth, and through a balanced scoring approach opened up their biggest lead of the game, 65-59. A regroup following a Mark English timeout saw the Sea-Hawks answer with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 65-65 with three-and-a-half minutes remaining.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Katelyn Power gets the put-back lay-in to go and the Huskies take the lead 52-51 in the third quarter! pic.twitter.com/YgayICeYAj

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 16, 2024

An exciting finish witnessed two high-quality teams competing neck and neck. Short continued to tally buckets, and Jenkins was effective driving to the basket. Huskies guard Alaina McMillan (Brantford, ON) showed her class with a slice to the rim for a layup, and quickly followed that up with a three-pointer to post a late lead the Huskies would not relinquish. The entertaining match went right down to the final moments, with guard Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS) converting free throws in the dying stages to secure a 77-72 victory.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Back-to-back transition buckets for the Huskies as Beaumont and McMillan extend their lead to 65-59 late in the fourth quarter! pic.twitter.com/vrvwzpZyTG

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 16, 2024

The Huskies were led by Alaina McMillan, with the senior guard scoring 15 of her 26 points in the second half. Clara Gascoigne added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Courtney Donaldson chipped in 13 points. The Sea-Hawks were led by a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds from Alana Short, with guards Alyssa Jenkins (St. John's, NL) and Brooke LeDevehat (Mount Pearl, NL) also cracking double-figures with 21 and 10 points respectively.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 16-3 and clinch first place in the AUS women's basketball standings, while the Sea-Hawks loss drops them to 9-10 on the season, in sixth poisition in the AUS standings. The two teams will finish off the regular season with a rematch on Saturday, Feb. 17 in St. John's, NL, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m. AST.

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Udantha Chandraratne / Memorial Sea-Hawks Athletics