Huskies score 80-52 victory over Capers

SYDNEY – The defending conference champion Saint Mary's Huskies (3-1) led from wire-to-wire in a convincing 80-52 victory over the host Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (3-1) in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women's basketball action Saturday evening at Sullivan Fieldhouse.

From the opening whistle, conference all-star guard Alaina McMillan (Brantford, ON), who finished with a game-high 20 points, while adding six rebounds and five assists, set the tone for the visitors.

The Huskies jumped to a quick 6-0 lead on three-pointers from McMillan and Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS).

After McMillan canned her third shot from downtown in the early minutes, the Huskies took a double-digit advantage – at 12-2.

Darah Fleurgin (Montreal, QC) gave the Capers a spark off the bench, when she scored on a nifty drive to the basket to slice the Saint Mary's edge to 18-9.

By the end of the first 10 minutes, keyed by a 16-point explosion from McMillan, including four three-pointers, the Huskies led 33-14 – their largest lead of the contest.

Early in the second quarter, the Capers made an 8-1 run, one sparked by five consecutive points, including a basket from beyond the arc, from Hannah Smith (Bedford, NS) to make it 34-22 for the Huskies.

For the following few minutes, the Saint Mary's lead remained in the 12-point range.

After an 8-2 spurt by the visitors, the Caper deficit ballooned to 46-30, with the exclamation point coming on a Lucina Beaumont (Fredericton, NB) dish to Katelyn Power (Bayside, NS) for a base line lay-in.

The Huskies shot 51.3 per cent from the floor in the first half, including 50 per cent from three-point range (six-for-12), while the Capers hit only 30.6 per cent of their field goal attempts.

Saint Mary's headed to the locker room with a 48-32 lead.

In the first four minutes of the third quarter, ignited by veteran guard Courtney Donaldson (Kelowna, BC) – who scored five points and collected a steal – the Huskies extended their double-digit lead to 61-36.

With the Capers meshing only seven points in the frame, the Huskies' lead mushroomed to 28 points – at 67-39.

In the fourth quarter, the sides deadlocked with 13 points apiece, with the Huskies largest advantage reaching 30 points.

Joining McMillan in double digits for the Huskies were Power, with 12, Donaldson (11) and Gascoigne (11). Aki Kobayashi (Osaka, Japan) finished with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Beaumont added six points, seven rebounds and five assists.

For the Capers, Kiyara Letlow (Toronto, ON), with her fourth double-double in as many regular season games, finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Chermensa van la Parra (Rotterdam, Netherlands) scored a team-high 16 points.

The Huskies will return to the court Wednesday, Nov. 8, when they visit the cross-city Dalhousie Tigers at Dalplex in Halifax, while the Capers will travel to Wolfville in the Annapolis Valley to face the Acadia Axewomen Friday, Nov. 10.

Tip-off for both match-ups is 6 p.m. AST.

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