WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The basketball Axewomen improve to 3-0 on the season with a convincing 81-64 win over the StFX X-Women (0-3).

Trailing 23-18 after one quarter and behind by seven points in the opening eight minutes, the Axewomen worked their way back to a 26-25 second frame lead after two Chanel Smith free throws.

The X-Women held their ground for the first half with Samantha Minicucci draining 10 of the X-Women's 30 first half points.

Finishing the opening half with a 32-30 lead, Acadia's Haley McDonald netted her first of five second half baskets from the distant arc.  McDonald added two more in the span of just over two minutes to push the Axewomen lead to 49-32.

By the end of the third quarter, the Axewomen had a commanding 60-40 lead en route to the eventual 81-64 win.

The Axewomen's slow start was quickly erased in the second half with Paloma Anderson scoring 15 of her 28 point game in the second half and Haley McDonald adding 15 more.

The X-Women edged Acadia in field goal percentage of 36.9% compared to the Axewomen's 34.5%, but the differentiator was Acadia's 60-40 rebound advantage. The Axewomen also had 25 second-chance points compared to StFX's three.

Minicucci was named StFX's Player of the Game with a team high 13 points, while teammate Jessica Miller added 10.

Anderson led the Axewomen with 28 points and senior forward Allie Berry had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Kelsey Rice led the way with 14 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive boards.

The two teams will be in a rematch on Saturday evening as the Axewomen head to Antigonish to take on the X-Women at 6:00 p.m.

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Courtesy Acadia Athletics sports information