HALIFAX, NS – Saint Mary's guards Sophia Widmeyer and Alaina McMillan combined for 47 points helping power the Huskies to a 79-72 win over the U SPORTS #5 ranked Acadia Axewomen on Wednesday night at the Homburg Centre in Halifax.
The defending AUS champion Axewomen got off to a good start early, opening up a quick 6-2 lead after a jumper from All-Canadian guard Haley McDonald (Port Williams, NS). Huskies leading scorer Sophia Widmeyer (Dartmouth, NS) responded with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 6-5, but back-to-back Axewomen layups put them up 10-5 with 6:38 remaining in the quarter.
That's when the Huskies finished the quarter on an 18-0 run, punctuated by a deep three by All-Star guard Alaina McMillan (Brantford, ON) to take a 23-10 lead into the second.
The Huskies continued their momentum into the second quarter, with guards Courtney Donaldson (Kelowna, BC), Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, NS), Sarah Forgie (New Westminster, BC) and Widmeyer each hitting a three, helping the Huskies extend their lead to 43-17 with 4:23 remaining in the first half.
But the Axemen wouldn't go down without a fight, scoring 15 straight points to end the half trailing 43-32. The Huskies were led by 12 first half points from Sophia Widmeyer, with Gascoigne adding nine and McMillan adding eight. The Axewomen were led by 10 points from McDonald and nine points from guard Bianca Helmig (Speyer, Germany).
The Axewomen's run continued into the third quarter, with three-pointers by Helmig and Sandy Saunders (Woodstock, NS) and a lay-up by McDonald cutting the home team's lead to five points, 45-40. The Huskies responded with a run of their own, outscoring Acadia 12-1 over the next few minutes capped off by consecutive lay-ups by McMillan, Widmeyer and Gascoigne, and the Huskies took a 62-53 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Huskies continued to control the pace in the fourth quarter, with a McMillan three extending the lead to 11 with 3:22 remaining. Saunders hit a three to cut the lead back to eight, as she scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half, but a steal and score by Gascoigne sealed the Huskies lead, and they would win it 79-72.
With a 23-10 deficit in the opening quarter, the Axewomen won each of the following quarters, but not be enough to make up for the 13 point first frame deficit.
Huskies guard Sophia Widmeyer was named Subway Player of the Game with a game-high 28 points, and added six rebounds, and a season-high seven steals. After eight games played, Widmeyer ranks fourth in the conference in scoring averaging 19.6 points per game.
Alaina McMillan added 19 points, five assists and five rebounds, while Clara Gascoigne scored a season-high 13 points, and added four rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks.
The Axewomen were led by perennial All-Canadian guard Haley McDonald, who scored 21 points and six assists, but shot just 6/19 from the floor. Saunders chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Helmig dropped a career high 14 points, three rebounds and two assists.
The Huskies sixth straight win improved their record to 7-1 on the campaign. They'll be back on home court on Friday, hosting the UPEI Panthers at 6 p.m. at the Homburg Centre.
The Axewomen loss dropped their record to 5-2 on the season. They'll be returning to Halifax for their next game on Thursday, Dec. 1, as they take on the Dalhousie Tigers.
Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics