Panthers clinch playoff spot despite loss to Sea-Hawks
It wasn’t the way they wanted to get into the playoffs, but they made it nonetheless.
By Thomas Becker
It wasn't the way they wanted to get into the playoffs, but they made it nonetheless.
The UPEI Panthers fell to the Memorial Sea-Hawks 65-59 Saturday evening, but with St. FX losing early in the day to UNB, they officially clinched their spot at the AUS Basketball Championships.
UPEI struggled to contain Alana Short, who scored a game-high 31 points with 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Alyssa Jenkins was the only other Sea-Hawk to reach double figures, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds.
The Panthers (9-10) were led by Deborah Aboagye, who scored a game-high 17 points off the bench. Grace Lancaster matched her 17 points and added three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Lauren Rainford had another strong all-around game, as she finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, and two steals.
Points were hard to come by early on, but Aboagye provided a spark off the bench and scored seven straight to give UPEI a slim 13-11 advantage. The Sea-Hawks (9-9) then rallied with a 6-0 run and took the opening quarter 17-13.
Memorial continued their strong play in the second and attacked the rim at will. Short drove hard to the basket for back-to-back layups before Jenkins capped off an 8-2 run with three more points to give her team a 25-15 advantage.
The Sea-Hawks were just as effective on the defensive end, where they held UPEI to just eight points on 15.8 per cent shooting, allowing them to open up a 36-21 halftime lead. Short single-handedly outscored the Panthers in the quarter with 13 points. She led all scorers with 17 at the break.
UPEI opened the third quarter with baskets from Lancaster and Lawlor, which cut the deficit to 11, 36-25. But the Sea-Hawks punched back with an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 44-25. Short continued her stellar play, scoring nine of her team's 16 third-quarter points, as the Sea-Hawks carried a 52-38 lead into the fourth.
An Aboagye and-one early in the frame trimmed the deficit to nine, 52-43. Aboagye then spun in the paint and found Samantha Zoffranieri across the court for the open three-pointer to make it 52-46. Lancaster followed that up shortly after with another triple to pull her team within two.
But Memorial's answer continued to be Short, who kickstarted a 7-1 run with a three-pointer before Jenkins went inside for back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 60-52. The Sea-Hawks held off their opponent the rest of the way to secure the 65-59 win.
The Panthers will play their final regular season game in Cape Breton vs. the Capers, while the Sea-Hawks return home for two against the Saint Mary's Huskies.
Photo Credit: Janessa Vanden Broek
