(Antigonish, N.S.) - The StFX X-Women (0-4) dropped an 80-61 decision to the Acadia Axewomen (3-0) in their home opener of the AUS basketball season Friday night at Oland Centre.

Paloma Anderson (Phoenix, AZ) scored a game-high 24 points for Acadia, while adding five rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Subway player of the game Alexandra Berry (Yarmouth, NS) contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and one assist, while Chanel Smith (Halifax, NS) hit double digits with 12. She added five rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocked shots.

Emily MacLeod (Fredericton, NB) chipped in seven points and a team-high nine rebounds, while adding two assists and one steal.

The Axewomen shot 39.5 per cent from the field, compared to 31.9 for the X-Women.

StFX player of the game Lindsay Lessard (Waterloo, ON) led the home team with 19 points, She also contributed seven rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Kolbi Roper (North Vancouver, BC) had a game-high 16 rebounds, along with nine points, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

Courtney Kilyk (Fonthill, ON) was the top assist-maker in the game, with six.

The Axewomen, who led 40-28 at halftime, started the second half on a 9-2 run, on the strength of six consecutive points from Anderson, to take a 49-30 advantage.

The X-Women got no closer than 11 points for the rest of the match-up, while StFX outrebounded Acadia 44-43.

The X-Women will be back on the court Wednesday, Nov. 18, when they travel to Wolfville to face the Axewomen, while Saturday, Nov. 21, the defending conference champion Saint Mary's Huskies will visit Oland Centre.

Tip-off for both games is 6 p.m.

Provided by StFX Communications Office