Huskies defeat Sea-Hawks 76-65 for third straight win

HALIFAX, N.S. - The Saint Mary's Huskies extended their winning streak to three games with a Sunday afternoon, defeating the Memorial Sea-Hawks 76-65 at the Homburg Centre in Halifax. 

The Huskies came into the game with a 9-4 record after defeating the Sea-Hawks 82-59 on Saturday night. 

Once again the Huskies got off to a good start, as an and-one layup by Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS) gave them an early 5-0 lead. Both teams struggled to make shots in the first quarter, and Sea-Hawks guard Rebecka Ekstrom hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 7-7. Saint Mary's responded on a nice run to finish the quarter with a 17-11 lead.

In the second quarter, Sea-Hawks first-year guard Alyssa Jenkins made a huge impact, scoring 11 points off the bench. A pair of free-throws by Jenkins gave the Sea-Hawks their first lead, 21-19 with 6:28 remaining in the quarter. The Sea-Hawks kept up the pressure and took a six point lead, 30-24, forcing Huskies coach Scott Munro to call a timeout.

Saint Mary's responded very well out of the timeout and went on a 11-0 run to end the half, highlighted by back-to-back Gascoigne transition lay-ups, to take a 35-30 lead into the second half. Gascoigne led the home team with nine points in the first half, while Jenkins led all scorers with 13 off the Sea-Hawks bench. 

The Huskies continued their strong play to begin the third quarter, and opened up a double-digit lead. That's when All-Star guard Alaina McMillan (Brantford, ON) started looking for her own offense, as she hit a trio of three-pointers and a pair of layups, for an outstanding 17 points in the third quarter. The Huskies led by as many as 20 in the third quarter, and took a 61-46 lead into the final frame.

The Sea-Hawks continued to fight, and chipped the Huskies lead down to single digits when a three by Ekstrom cut the score to 67-60 with 5:14 to go. Gascoigne and the Huskies were able to seal the victory, as she scored eight of her 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Saint Mary's went on to win 76-65.

McMillan was named Subway Player of the Game with 22 points, including 4/10 shooting from three-point range. Nine different Huskies scored for the second straight night, and Gascoigne continued her excellent play with 21 points and six rebounds.

"We've been really focusing on our defence," said McMillan post-game. "We're such a talented offensive team that we know we'll get looks to score. A big thing for me as a point guard is to facilitate and get my teammates going in the first half, and then I was just taking my shots and they went in today."

The Sea-Hawks were led by All-Star guard Alana Short, who scored 20 of her 22 points after half-time, including a perfect 13/13 from the free-throw line, while first year guard Alyssa Jenkins poured in a career high 20 points and added nine rebounds.

The Huskies win improved their record to 10-4 on the season, and moved them into a tie for first place in the AUS standings with the UPEI Panthers. They'll head to Fredericton next weekend to finish off the regular season with a pair of games against the 6-6 UNB REDS.

"We've been working towards this the whole season, and it's great that in the second half and coming into the playoffs, that everything is clicking, our culture is up, and we're really positive and enthusiastic heading into the playoffs."

The Sea-Hawks loss dropped them to 8-6 on the season. Memorial will be back at home next weekend, where they'll host the 10-1 UPEI Panthers.

Post game interview with @SUBWAYCanada Player of the Game Alaina McMillan. pic.twitter.com/OyUrAcYZPp

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) March 6, 2022

Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics
Photos by Nick Pearce / SMU Huskies Athletics