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Steenbakkers dominates inside as Huskies defeat X-Women 71-61 to advance to AUS Final
Posted: Feb 24, 2024

Steenbakkers dominates inside as Huskies defeat X-Women 71-61 to advance to AUS Final

Photos Box Score
Game Leaders
StFX
Pts: Ekaterina Karchevska - 15
Reb: Kristine Cooper - 11
Ast: 4 Players (#03, #05, #07, #23) - 3
Saint Mary's
Pts: Marlo Steenbakkers - 18
Reb: Lucina Beaumont - 15
Ast: 2 Players (#09, #22) - 4
Team Stats
Full stats

HALIFAX, NS - Saint Mary's forward Marlo Steenbakkers was dominant inside with an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, as the Huskies defeated the STFX X-Women 71-61 in the Atlantic University Sport women's basketball semifinal on Saturday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.

"It comes down to practicing, we work so hard together, work on the little things and it just really showed today that when we put everything together, anything is possible," said Steenbakkers post-game.

The Huskies got off to a hot start, with forward Marlo Steenbakkers (Ottawa, ON) making a pair of lay-ins off nice dishes from guards Alaina McMillan (Brantford, ON) and Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS), and the Huskies opened up an 11-2 lead.

But the X-Women came storming back on a 11-1 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from guard Kristine Cooper (Hamilton, ON), and briefly took the lead at 13-12.

Saint Mary's head coach Scott Munro took a timeout, and the Huskies responded accordingly, with back-to-back threes from guards Courtney Donaldson (Kelowna, BC) and Aki Kobayashi (Osaka, Japan) snapping the X-Women run and restoring the Huskies lead 18-13, which would remain the score after 10 minutes of play.

Saint Mary's kept that momenteum going into the second quarter, with McMillan dropping another dime to Steenbakkers for the lay-in, and Donaldson hitting her second three of the night, as the Huskies opened up a 33-15 lead.

A three-pointer from X-Women guard Jaya D'Souza (Brampton, ON) cut the deficit to 33-20, but Courtney Donaldson responded with her third three of the first half, helping the Huskies take a 40-26 lead into halftime.

Courtney Donaldson led the Huskies with 11 first half points, including shooting a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc, while Marlo Steenbakkers was dominant on the inside, posting a first half double-double of 10-points, 10-rebounds and adding a pair of blocks. Steenbakkers helped give the Huskies a big advantage on the offensive glass, as they corralled 11 offensive rebounds and converted for eight second chance points through the opening 20 minutes.

The X-Women were led by the duo of Kristine Cooper and Ekaterina Karchevska (Mogilev, Belarus), who each scored six points.

In the third quarter, Steenbakkers picked up where she left off, hitting a nice reverse lay-in for the first basket of the second half. Back-to-back threes from Clara Gascoigne and Lucina Beaumont (Fredericton, NB) helped the Huskies open up a 52-30 lead, but the X-Women were able to cut into it with guard Katie Upham (North River, NS) and forward Elizabeth Kennedy (Richmond, ON) each scoring four points, and the Huskies took a 57-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter the Huskies continued to find success in the paint with another lay-in from Steenbakkers and an and-one lay-in from forward Katelyn Power (Bayside, NS) putting the Huskies ahead 63-52.

Steenbakkers would foul out on a controversial call with just over two minutes remaining, but the Huskies iced the game at the free-throw line with guards Aliyah Fraser (New Glasgow, NS), Alaina McMillan and Courtney Donaldson combining to hit seven late foul shots, and the Huskies held on for the 71-61 victory to advance to their second straight AUS Championship Final.

Marlo Steenbakkers led the Huskies with a monster double-double of 18-points and 12-rebounds, both career highs, before fouling out with just over two minutes remaining in regulation. Courtney Donaldson and Clara Gascoigne each added 12 points, while Lucina Beaumont chipped in a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double. The Huskies outrebounded the X-Women 62-38 on the night, including a 23-10 advantage on the offensive glass.

The X-Women were led by Ekaterina Karchevska with 15 points, Katie Upham with 12, and double-doubles from forwards Kristine Cooper (10-points, 11-rebounds) and Shannon Neita (10-points, 10-rebounds).

With the win, the Huskies advance to Sunday's AUS Championship final, where they'll look to become the first team to repeat as conference champions since the Acadia Axewomen in 2018-19 and 2017-18. The Huskies will meet the #2 seed UNB REDS to decide the championship, Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Scotiabank Centre. GET TICKETS

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Nick Pearce / Atlantic University Sport