X-Women close out pre-season with McGill Classic Tournament win

Montreal, QC - The X-Women Basketball team are returning from Montreal with three wins – and a tournament championship. After notching a convincing 67-48 win over Laurentian in Friday's opener, the StFX squad had a tougher time on Saturday with the University of Northern British Columbia before eventually scoring the 80-75 win. That set up a Sunday afternoon match-up with the host McGill Martlets with the McGill Basketball Classic tournament championship on the line. The X-Women left no doubt as they cruised to a decisive 81-61 win to close their pre-season with a 5-2 record against U SPORTS teams.

In Friday afternoon's affair, StFX raced out to a 29-9 first quarter lead and never looked back. Player of the Game, Ekaterina Karchevskaya led the offensive charge with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Much to the delight of X head coach Matt Spencer, five players finished with 8 points including Shannon Neita (7 rebounds and 3 steals), Krissy Cooper (4 assists and 3 steals), Mali Straker (5 rebounds and 4 steals), Abby Cameron (3 rebounds) and Lauren Neeve. "We are really tough to play against when everyone is a scoring threat, everyone is connected defensively, and everyone is scrapping for rebounds," commented Spencer. "We jumped on them early and continued to play hard throughout the game."

Whereas X led wire-to-wire against Laurentian, UNBC proved to be a much peskier opponent, as the game featured 7 lead changes and 3 ties. Second year forward Shannon Neita was unstoppable, however, as she put up a career-high 28 points to go with 8 rebounds and 5 steals. "It was a tough fought game. My teammates trusted me and I found my spots and made shots that were needed in the end," remarked Neita. Senior wing Jaya D'Souza drilled five 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, and Straker repeated her 8-point performance from the day before. Straker offered this assessment of the first two games, "Friday's game showed our depth with balanced scoring across the board, but it was Shannon and Jaya who ultimately carried us today. I felt like I was a consistent, steady presence for us which is something I've really tried to focus on."

The X-Women's balanced scoring attack was on display again in the final game, as five players scored in double-digits. Third year wing Lauren Neeve bounced back from a tough shooting day on Saturday to record a career-high 16 points while adding 3 rebounds and 2 steals. "I was really frustrated with the UNBC game, not because I felt like I played poorly but because shots weren't falling," commented Neeve. She continued, "after chatting with Matt, I knew that I still need to shoot open shots, so I felt confident that I would have a better game and that the ball would start to fall. I felt like my defense was solid and my offensive input was good because I stayed aggressive. I looked to go up when I was in the paint, but I also looked to score from the perimeter. Overall, it was a good game for us and I was happy with my contributions."

Cooper matched Neeve's 16 points and added 7 rebounds on her way to being named Player of the Game. Neita (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists) and Karchevskaya (11 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds) were named to the tournament all-star team. Sophomore forward Reegan Bell also hit double figures for the X-Women, as she poured in 10 points in the 81-61 win. While Spencer appreciated the balanced scoring attack again, it was the team's defense that he acknowledged, "I loved how we came out and dictated the game right from the first possession. You could tell that we were locked in. I think we forced four or five shot clock violations, didn't let them cross half a few times, and even when they did get looks, they were contested. We were aggressive at the point of attack and had lots of people ready to help when we did get beat. It's a great sign that we are going to be ready to start the regular season next week."

The X squad finished their pre-season exhibition schedule with a 5-2 record against U SPORTS opponents. That mark is the 13^th-best record in the country. Neeve summarized her thoughts on the pre-season, "I thought the pre-season was a good learning curve for the team, especially with the ups and downs and realizing that when we put our head down and work, we will get the results we need. I think focusing on the little things helps our team perform without getting overwhelmed. We still have lots of room to grow, but this has been a good start! I think this pre-season also gave me a chance to gain confidence offensively which will help me in the season."

The X-Women open AUS regular season play at home on Wednesday, Oct. 30 when they host the Dalhousie Tigers (3-5). Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm.

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Courtesy STFX X-Women Basketball