REDS Hold Off Tigers
(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS held off a feisty Dalhousie Tigers for an 88-78 win in Atlantic University Sport women's basketball action, Sunday afternoon at UNB's Richard J. Currie Center.
"I think it was a good team effort," said REDS' guard Addie Mombourquette (Fredericton, NB), named Tim Horton's Player of the Game. "I thought we moved the ball really well."
Dal's Kaitlyn Ferrier (Calgary, AB) led all scorers with 24 points, but it wasn't enough.
Katie Butts (Ottawa, ON) registered a double-double to lead the REDS, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Butts' double-double came in the first half on 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The REDS began Sunday where they left off on Saturday, running their offence almost at will.
When UNB raced out to a quick 6-0 lead, Tigers' coach Tanya McKay called an early time-out to calm her troops.
UNB would hold Dal off the board for more than five minutes, the Tigers finally scoring their first basket at the 5:07 mark of the first quarter.
The REDS led 24-15 after ten minutes.
After scoring nine points in the opening quarter, Butts scored seven more in the second as UNB took a 47-31 lead to the half-time break.
In the third quarter, the Tigers began chipping away at the UNB lead.
On the strength of consecutive three-point baskets by Melina Collins (Halifax, NS), Eva Widmeyer (Dartmouth, NS), and Ferrier, Dal trimmed the REDS' lead to just 10 points at 58-48, prompting a time-out call from UNB coach Erin McAleenan.
The Tigers pulled even closer, cutting the REDS' lead to just five, 73-68, with 5:20 to play.
A series of points on foul shots in the dying minutes allowed UNB to extend their lead to as much as 11, and the REDS hung on for the ten-point win.
"I think we kind of took our foot off the gas a bit," admitted Mombourquette. "We got a little bit comfortable, but then we started to pick it back up, move the ball, get it inside out which was good for us."
Mombourquette (Fredericton, NB) scored a career-high 14 and added four rebounds for the REDS while Lillian Fuller (Dartmouth, NS) and Ann Bastien (Terrebonne, QC) each dropped 11.
On top of Ferrier's two dozen points, Collins finished the afternoon with 20 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers, who remain winless.
With the win, UNB improves to 2-and-2, good for a share of 4th place in the AUS standings.
"It's put us on a good path, on a high now," said Mombourquette, of UNB's second straight victory. "We're feeling pretty good. It was a good weekend for us."
The Tigers return home to face AUS co-leaders Cape Breton on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm.
The REDS will welcome the STFX X-Women Friday. That game is set to start at 6:00pm as well.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics