WOLFVILLE, N.S. - In mid-week basketball action, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the Acadia Axewomen at the Dalplex. Putting forth an aggressive pressure defence, the Axewomen were able to take a 70-55 win over the Tigers.
After a slow shooting start to the game, Haley McDonald (Port Williams, NS) and Chloe Wilson (Dartmouth, NS) each knocked down a shot from deep to get their teams going in the opening quarter.
Both teams continued to struggle with their outside shot in the quarter, but a late run sparked by a three from Meghan Greenland (St. John's, NL) pushed the Tigers ahead to a 17-13 advantage.
The Tigers defence was strong throughout much of the second quarter, clogging the paint and forcing the Axewomen into shots that still weren't falling for them. As a result, Acadia was held scoreless for nearly five minutes in the middle of the quarter.
Meanwhile, the Tigers lead began to grow as they worked the ball inside to earn trips to the line, with Chelsea Slawter-Wright (Dartmouth, NS) being the driving force on those attacks.
With two minutes left to go in the half, Haley McDonald took control of the game, scoring 8 of 12 points on a 12-2 run for the Axewomen, highlighted by a score and immediate steal for McDonald to earn a trip to the line with just two seconds left.
After knocking down the pair, McDonald helped the Axewomen to a 30-27 lead at half.
The Axewomen continued to up the intensity coming out of the break with a full-court pressure that was giving the Tigers trouble not only getting over half, but getting settled in an offensive flow once they did.
With the pressure forcing the Tigers into turnovers, and McDonald knocking down back to back threes, the Axewomen opened up a lead late in the quarter.
The Tigers were finally able to regroup at the end of the quarter with a short run of their own. As Chloe Wilson went on a 5-0 run by herself, including the layup on a great pass from Ariel Provo (Lake Echo, NS) as the buzzer expired, the Tigers found themselves trailing 48-42 going into the final quarter.
That run was quickly stopped in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers were held to just two points in the opening five minutes of the quarter.
The Axewomen immediately pounced on that opportunity as Haley McDonald continued to put together an incredible performance to increase the lead to 20 with five minutes to go.
As time ran out, the Axewomen were able to come away with a 70-55 win.
Chloe Wilson led the Tigers on both ends of the floor with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while finishing with an outstanding 36 points on 6-11 shooting from deep, Haley McDonald led the Axewomen to the win. Helping her team heavily out rebound the Tigers, Julia Sylvester (Hamilton, ON) had a double-double performance of 12 points and 11 rebounds to earn the Subway Player of the Game title.
The Tigers will need to bounce back quickly as they take on UNB in another home game on Friday. The Axewomen will head home and take on StFX this Sunday.
Provided by Kirk Jessome, Dalhousie Athletics Communications