Panthers surrender first-half lead, lose 67-52 to Huskies

It was tale of two halves for the UPEI Women's Basketball Panthers, who came out on the losing end of a 67-52 battle Saturday night.

After shooting 46.7 per cent from the field in the first half, the Panthers (2-6) went cold, scoring just 20 points on 24 per cent shooting in the second half, while the Saint Mary's Huskies (7-1) put up 41 in the convincing defeat.

"I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half. We were patient on the offensive end and we defended pretty well," said Panthers head coach Greg Gould. "In the second half, I thought we did a pretty good job getting to the basket, we just didn't get anything out of it."

Angenay Williams got the Panthers offence rolling in first, scoring four points in a 6-0 run. The Huskies returned the favour with a 4-0 run of their own, before UPEI pulled away with a 12-8 edge after one.

The Huskies cut the deficit to one in the first few minutes of the second, but the resilient Panthers went on a 9-4 run to extend their lead 25-19. The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, giving UPEI a 32-26 lead at halftime.

Williams and Kiera Rigby combined for 16 points at the half, while the Huskies' potent scoring duo, Rachelle Coward and Kennisha-Shanice Luberisse, were held to six points on 3-of-16 shooting.

Despite keeping Coward and Luberisse under wraps, Gould said Saint Mary's depth was the determining factor in the game.

"They have a lot of offensive weapons," said Gould. They're experienced and know how to finish games and we're still learning how to do that."

Coming out of the half, Saint Mary's wasted little time cracking into the lead. Coward scored five in the quarter, while Jenny Lewis added five of her own off the bench. That effort led to a Huskies 15-8 charge, giving them their first lead of the game 41-40, a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

After a Rigby three-pointer cut the deficit to a single point early in the fourth quarter, Saint Mary's pulled away with a strong 18-6 run before capturing the 67-52 win.

Lewis led all scorers with 14 points, while teammates Coward (13) and Shanieka Wood (11) each scored in double figures.

Rigby (13) and Williams (12) were the high-point women for the Panthers.

The Panthers will take to the court again Jan. 15 and 16 at 6 p.m. when they host the first place 8-0 Acadia Axewomen.

By Thomas Becker, photo by Mike Needham