WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Axewomen (8-9) dominated play over the visiting St.FX X-Women (1-17) in a four-point 84-47 win Friday at the annual Shoot for the Cure night.
The Axewomen pulled ahead early in the first quarter, with a 25-6 lead. Acadia was quick to rebound the ball, and shot 61.5% from the floor.
The pace picked up into the second quarter with first year X-Woman Jessica Miller (Mount Denson, N.S.) draining a three-point jump shot, along with several steals from Chelsea Provo (East Preston, N.S.) which cracked the Axewomen's 19-point lead to only a 33-21 deficit.
A first-year guard and a local product, Miller led her team with 21 points off the bench. The X-women were no match for the Acadia's sharp shooting and strong defense, allowing the Axewomen to post an 18-point lead by the half.
Five minutes into the third quarter, the Axewomen had extended their lead to 30 points, anchored by Paloma Anderson's (Phoenix, Arizona) three point shot at the 5:14 mark of the third frame. Anderson led all scorers with 26 game points, and pushed transitions with five steals.
Full court pressure from the Acadia defense, led to turnovers and missed baskets for the X-women, and they were unable to make up the score.
"We try to find the best strategy against any team, and we felt that some pressure would be tough for X to deal with. They settled in during the second quarter and did a much better job", noted Axewomen head coach Len Harvey.
"We made some adjustments in the second half and forced them into a bit of trouble again. We executed well though, and aside from letting one of their shooters get hot, we were quite focused on the scout and the game plan", said Harvey.
The Axewomen didn't back down in the final quarter, ending with a final three from Hayley MacDonald (Port Williams, N.S.) and giving Acadia an 84-47 victory over StFX.
"I was happy with our efforts on the court tonight, and perhaps more significantly off the court with their work toward this year's Shoot for the Cure initiative", concluded Harvey.
The Axewomen head to Halifax for a matchup against the seventh place Dalhousie Tigers, while StFX will host UNB and UPEI next weekend to conclude their 2016-17 season. The Axewome will wrap up the regular season at home next weekend against the visiting Memorial Sea-Hawks on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
Source: Laura Jeha, Acadia Athletics Communications Office
Photos by Peter Oleskevich
NOTE: With the four-point win over StFX, the Axewomen find themselves tied with UPEI in fifth place with 22 points. Acadia has 10 possible points remaining that include a 2-point game versus Dalhousie and two 4-point games versus Memorial. UPEI has 10 possible points remaining that include two 4-point games versus Dalhousie and Cape Breton and a 2-point game against StFX.