X-Women basketball earn first win of regular season

(Antigonish, N.S.) - The StFX X-Women (1-5) scored their first win of the AUS regular season with a 69-61 victory over the visiting Dalhousie Tigers (3-4) in AUS basketball action Saturday evening at the Oland Centre.

Subway player of the game Kolbi Roper (North Vancouver, BC) led the home team with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while adding three assists, three steals and one blocked shot.

StFX, who led 31-29 at halftime, finished the opening 20 minutes on a 12-5 run, including a three-pointer from freshman guard Courtney Bulman (Moncton, NB). 

Lindsay Lessard (Waterloo, ON) gave the blue and white their two-point advantage with a drive and left-handed lay-up at the buzzer. The fourth-year senior led the X-Women with 11 points at the intermission. She finished with a game-best 21 points, while chipping in eight rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot.

Sophie Gaube (Halifax, NS) topped the visitors with seven points at halftime, including one basket from beyond the arc.

In the third quarter, the X-Women extended their edge, leading by as many as 11 points over the visitors, before taking a 50-40 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Early in the second half, back-to-back three-pointers from Chelsea Provo (East Preston, NS) and Courtney Kilyk (Fonthill, ON) sparked the X-Women surge. After a steal and drive by Marcy Robinson (Bastrop, LA), which led to a foul and a made free-throw, along with an offensive rebound and basket on the second foul shot miss by Roper, gave the X-Women a 50-39 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers opened with the first seven points to cut the X-Women edge to 50-47, but they could get no closer. Lessard scored the X-Women's first hoop of the final 10 minutes, which slowed the Dalhousie rally, with a bank shot jumper more than four minutes into the period.  

The X-Women secured the lead and their first win of the AUS campaign with key baskets, defensive stops and solid foul shooting down the stretch.

The player of the game for Tigers was Ashley Cain (Toronto, ON), who collected eight points and four rebounds. 

Ainsley MacIntyre (Sydney, NS) and Tessa Stammberger (Kensington, PEI) led Dalhousie with 16 and 15 points, respectively. MacIntyre also added a team-high eight rebounds. 

It was the final regular season game before the Christmas break for both teams.

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