Ellsworth and Rainford lead Panthers to fifth straight win

By Thomas Becker

Jenna Mae Ellsworth and Lauren Rainford combined for 54 points as the UPEI Panthers rode a strong start to a 90-76 win over the Cape Breton Capers Friday night. 

Ellsworth scored 11 of her game-high 28 points in the decisive opening quarter to give her team an early 26-11 advantage. The Capers trimmed it to as a few as 11, but that's as close as they'd get to a Panthers team that continues to sit atop the standings at 5-0. 

Ellsworth also added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win. Cape Breton's star rookie, Kiyara Letlow, continued her push for Rookie of the Year honours scoring 28 points the other way on a perfect 12-for-12 night. MacKenzee Ryan and Chermensa van la Parra both reached double figures in the loss with 13 apiece. 

Rainford, meanwhile, continues to be a significant development for UPEI, proving once again she's an all-star calibre player. The sophomore guard put up 26 points on 50 per cent shooting with five rebounds and two assists. Her emergence has been crucial to the team's success, especially in the absence of Reese Baxendale, who missed the last three games due to an ankle injury. Rainford has carried a lot of the offensive load in those three games, scoring 22 points on average. 

"She works really hard all year round," Ellsworth said of her teammate. "I was waiting for it to happen, and it's happening this year. Lauren has always been a threat and she's been stepping up a lot this year. I look forward to what else she brings this year." 

UPEI rookie Devon Lawlor connected on a triple, for three of her nine points, early in the second to make it a 31-16 game. After Rhianna MacDonald and Letlow trimmed the deficit to 11 with on a pair of layups, the Panthers responded with a 7-2 run to push the lead back up to 16. At halftime, they led 44-29. 

A Leandra Hersey triple two minutes into the third quarter made it an 11-point game once again, but a three-point play by Ellsworth and a three-pointer from Rainford moments later pushed the lead back up to 58-39. Rainford continued to play well in the third, as she drove to the basket for back-to-back layups for the 20-point advantage. 

Up 69-51 heading into the fourth quarter, UPEI went away from their game plan for a brief period, allowing Cape Breton (2-3) to get within 12. But after Panthers head coach Matt Gamblin instructed his team to push the ball up the floor with pace, they settled down and closed out the 90-76 win. 

While the Capers look to build off a strong second half where they shot 60 per cent from the field, Ellsworth and the Panthers look to make some defensive adjustments when they meet again Saturday night. 

"It was mostly down the stretch where we let them back in the game," Ellsworth said. "We definitely need to close a little better, but there were a lot of positives from this game."

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan