X-Women fall short in late comeback against Brock Badgers

Halifax, NS - The STFX X-Women Basketball team suffered a narrow 70-66 loss to the Brock University Badgers on Friday night in Halifax, despite a spirited fourth-quarter comeback.

The X-Women came out strong, as they raced to a 7-1 lead in the opening minutes. However, Brock responded with an 18-5 run to take a 19-12 lead after the first quarter.

In a tightly contested second quarter, the X-Women fought back to within two possessions, trailing 28-24. But a late surge by the Badgers saw them stretch the lead to 10 points by halftime, heading into the locker room with a 36-26 advantage. "We didn't do the little things," commented head coach Matt Spencer. "Those little things – boxing out, closing out to shooters, foul discipline, taking care of the ball – they add up over time and become the big things."

Midway through the third quarter, the X-Women faced their largest deficit of the game, down 42-29. Refusing to back down, senior wing Jaya D'Souza (10 points) and sophomore forward Reegan Bell (11 points) sparked a comeback, combining for 11 points in the final four minutes of the quarter. Their efforts trimmed the Brock lead to just 8 points heading into the fourth, with the score 48-40.

"Coming into the second half, our goal was to be more connected on both sides of the floor. We wanted to get the ball inside more and limit their offensive rebounds. I thought I did a good job putting pressure on the rim and getting fouled in the second half. It felt good to see the ball go in and I thought my contributions came at a good time in the third quarter," offered Bell.

The momentum carried into the final frame, as the interior presence of Bell and Ekaterina Karchevskaya (17 points, 4 rebounds) caused problems for the Badgers' defense. The X-Women clawed their way back, eventually taking a brief 61-60 lead with just over three minutes to play. However, Brock answered with key offensive rebounds and converted their free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

"That was the story of the night," Spencer commented, referencing Brock's ability to capitalize on opportunities. "They made some big plays down the stretch, but they were really just a continuation of what led up to that. We didn't keep [Madalyn] Weinert off the glass, we didn't adjust to [Jamie] Addy's 3-point shooting, and we couldn't keep them off the free throw line. I was proud of how hard we fought to get back into the game, unfortunately it was too little, too late."

Regarding lessons learned, Bell commented, "we need to play and execute right from the start. Our rebounding did improve in the second half, but they ultimately had too many second chance opportunities and that hurt us."

In addition to the double-digit scoring from Karchevskaya, Bell, and D'Souza, the X-Women also got a 7 point, 14 rebound performance from third year guard Krissy Cooper.

The X-Women (2-2) will look to get back on track next weekend in Montreal where they'll play three games in the McGill Classic. StFX opens against the Laurentian University Voyaguers at 2:00pm ET on Friday, before taking on UNBC (Saturday at 1:00pm ET) and McGill (Sunday at 2:00pm ET).

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Recap courtesy X-Women Basketball