The women Tommies kept their perfect record going with a 70-52 victory over Mount Allison University on Saturday afternoon.
The Tommies opened the game strong with an 11-0 run.
But as the half drew to an end, Mount A made an aggressive push led by Mackenzie Gray, who had eight points.
The Tommies’ defence held firm and they led 32-25 at halftime. Brittany Gillis hit important shots in the last few minutes that helped give STU a little momentum going into the break.
The two teams kept each other to fewer than 40 per cent field goal percentage – Mount A had 16 turnovers, while STU had 13.
The third quarter started in a very similar fashion to the first. The Tommies got off to a 15-0 start and held the Mounties scoreless for over six minutes. The defense played a major role in stopping the momentum the Mounties picked up at the end of the first half. The fourth quarter saw the Tommies continuing to play their game and keeping the Mounties to the perimeter where they were ineffective throughout the game. Fringe players got involved in the game in the fourth and the rookies looked very comfortable in a big game situation. Jill Lamoreau had her best home game of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds to bring the Tommies to a perfect 9-0.
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After a crushing defeat on Wednesday to Crandall University, the men’s Tommies couldn’t dwell on that loss for too long as they had to play the Mount Allison Mounties on Saturday. The team picked one another up and came out on top with a 60-49 victory.
Without Mackenzie Washburn and Steph Bielecki, the Tommies have to rely on other players to step up.
In an unusual first quarter, the Tommies and Mounties combined for just nine points as the Tommies led 7-2. Play improved in the second quarter and at the end of the first half, STU led 21-16. The points in the half came from Calvin Leblanc and Brad Hovey who combined for 17 total. After a tough first quarter Mount A battled back in the second and keep it close going into the break.
The third quarter was closely contested with both teams playing tight defence throughout with timely scoring from Richie Wilkins and Corey DeLong to give them a five point lead heading into the fourth.
Both teams started to get very feisty in the fourth and eventually the Tommies were given a bench technical which gave Mount A life in the dying minutes of the fourth.
But after some solid D from the Tommies they started to pull away with three minutes left and sealed the deal with some free throws at the end.
The win was much needed for the Tommies after losing a heartbreaker just a few days earlier to Crandall. Richie Wilkins finished the game with 18 points which included some clutch three’s in the second half. It was also Calvin Leblanc’s best performance as a Tommie as he finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for a solid double double.
