Dominant defence and balanced attack lead Huskies to 95-44 victory over Tigers

HALIFAX, NS - The U SPORTS #6 ranked Saint Mary's Huskies (5-1) defeated the Dalhousie Tigers (1-5) 95-44 on Friday night at the Homburg Centre in Halifax.

The Huskies were led by swarming defense from their starters and an electric effort off the bench by Player of the Game Aki Kobayashi (Hyogo, Japan), who led the team with 16 points (5-11 FG, 1-2 3PT), and added four rebounds, and three assists.

Early in the first quarter, the Huskies full-court pressure forced the Tigers into errant jump shots and stifled drives. A pair of quick three-pointers by guard Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS), followed by a jump shot from guard Alaina McMillan (Brantford, ON), opened up a quick 11-0 lead, and forced the Tigers to take timeout.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Huskies full court pressure continued to force turnovers and kept the Tigers running back in transition. Meanwhile, the Huskies attacked the paint, drew help defenders from the Tigers 3-2 zone, and made pinpoint passes to the low post, including multiple connections between Kobayashi and forwards Chloe Wilson (Dartmouth, NS) and Lucina Beaumont (Fredericton, NB) that led to layups and free throws, and the Huskies took a 31-3 lead into the second quarter.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Lucy Beaumont splashes a three, and leads all scorers with 12 at the half! Huskies lead Tigers 52-20 at the half. Watch live: https://t.co/ILQmh31WoB pic.twitter.com/SnTlLV3A5d

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) November 10, 2023

The second quarter started with more of the same, as Beaumont scored nine points in a flurry of layups and a three-pointer. The Tigers continued to struggle from the field, and didn't make their first field goal until three minutes into the second quarter when forward Anna Parsons (Calgary, AB), made a three-pointer to break the drought.

That shot seemed to spark some momentum for the Tigers as they outscored the Huskies 17-15 over the last 7:39 of the second quarter, led by five points from guard Sydney Guker-Wickie (Kitchener, ON), but the Huskies took a 52-20 lead into the half.

The second half began with Tigers guard Kaitlyn Ferrier (Calgary, AB) drawing an offensive foul, as the Tigers looked to ramp up their defensive intensity. However the Huskies continued to take advantage in transition, as Gascoigne found McMillan with a leak-out pass for an easy lay-in.

The Huskies also found success inside, as Power and Beaumont punished the Tigers help defence with post-to-post passing. Despite an acrobatic up-and-under from Guker-Wickie, and a buzzer-beating three-pointer from near half-court by guard Sarah Valley (Regina, SK), the home team took a 75-36 lead into the fourth quarter.

A fast-paced final quarter began with Ferrier hitting a tough lay-in through contact, but Huskies guard Courtney Donaldson responded with a three-pointer to extend the lead once again.

In the final moments, the Huskies saw contributions from first year reserves Julia Black (Halifax, NS), Georgia Bell (Miramichi, NB) and McKenna Dunn (Hollis, NH), who scored the first points of her AUS regular season career with a free-throw and three-pointer, the exclamation point on a Huskies 95-44 victory.

Player of the Game Aki Kobayashi led the Huskies with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in just 19 minutes off the bench. Forward Lucina Beaumont chipped in 14 points and guards Courtney Donaldson and Clara Gascoigne scored 13 points each, with Marlo Steenbakkers delivering an 11 point, 11 rebound double-double off the bench.

Sydney Guker-Wickie led the Tigers with 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Huskies win improved their record to 5-1 on the season. Saint Mary's will be on the road next weekend, taking on the UPEI Panthers on Friday, Nov. 17 in Charlottetown, PEI, before returning to home court to host the STFX X-Women on Friday, Nov. 24, with both games scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m.

The Tigers loss dropped their record to 1-5. They'll be on the road next weekend, heading to Antigonish to take on the X-Women on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

Recap by Dr. Casper Macaulay / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Mona Ghiz / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics