Huskies remain undefeated with 73-54 win over X-Women

HALIFAX, NS – Saint Mary's guard Aki Kobayashi poured in a career high 22 points, leading the U SPORTS #3 ranked Huskies as they defeated the STFX X-Women 73-54 in Atlantic University Sport women's basketball action on Wednesday night at the Homburg Centre.

The X-Women got off to a strong start, with guard Kristine Cooper (Hamilton, ON) scoring the opening five points of the game. The Huskies took the lead with some great end-to-end play by guard Aki Kobayashi (Osaka, Japan), who picked off an inbounds pass for an easy basket, before forcing another turnover and assisting forward Lucina Beaumont (Fredericton, NB) on a fast break basket, giving Saint Mary's a 9-6 lead.

STFX took a 15-11 lead with some great contributions off the bench from guard Ofer Caspi (Kabri, Israel) and forward Ali Oluyole (Wolfville, NS), but that would be their last lead of the night, as the Huskies finished the quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by back-to-back baskets from guard Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS), giving the hosts a 18-15 lead after one quarter of play.

Saint Mary's continued their strong play into the second quarter, with Kobayashi and guard Aliyah Fraser (New Glasgow, NS) each contributing seven points in the quarter, including a three-pointer each. A Lucina Beaumont jump shot opened up a 36-21 point lead, but STFX continued to receive contributions off their bench, with a pair of Abby Mercer (Wolfville, NS) lay-ins and a three-pointer from guard Mali Straker (Yellowknife, YT) cutting the lead to 42-30 at the half.

The Huskies were led in the first half by Kobayashi's 16 points, while Ali Oluyole led the X-Women with 10 points.

Saint Mary's clicked into another gear to begin the third quarter, going on a 15-0 run, with a Kobayashi jumper extending the lead to 55-30. STFX wing Jaya D'Souza (Brampton, ON) hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 57-37 after three quarters of play.

The X-Women were able to outscore the Huskies 17-16 in the fourth quarter, with forward Shannon Neita (Toronto, ON) leading the way with five points, but the Huskies held on for a 73-54 win.

Huskies guard Aki Kobayashi was named Player of the Game, scoring a game-high 22 points and adding five assists, three steals and two rebounds. Aliyah Fraser chipped in 13 points and Lucy Beaumont and Clara Gascoigne added 10 points each.

The X-Women were led by 11 points off the bench from forward Ali Oluyole, with Jaya D'Souza adding 10 points.

The Huskies win improves their record to 8-0 on the season. Saint Mary's will visit their crosstown rivals the Dalhousie Tigers (2-6) on Saturday night, 6 p.m. at the Dalplex to end off the 2024 portion of the 2024-25 season.

The X-Women loss drops their record to 3-5 on the campaign. STFX will finish off the first half of their schedule on the road against the Acadia Axewomen (4-3) on Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Wolfville.

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Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics