Lauren Rainford drops 27 points in three quarters as Panthers sweep Memorial

By Thomas Becker

The UPEI Panthers are tough enough to play against with Jenna Mae Ellsworth and Reese Baxendale leading the charge. After Sunday afternoon's 71-57 win over the Memorial Sea-Hawks, that two-headed monster may have become a three-headed one. 

The Sea-Hawks had no answer for Lauren Rainford, who torched them for 27 points, all of which came in the first three quarters. 

"More than anything, she's letting the game come to her," said Panthers head coach Matt Gamblin. "We're still working on her reads, but she's playing with a lot of confidence and executing." 

Rainford admitted she was nervous a lot in her rookie season, but has settled into her role as one of the three go-to players on the team. 

"I had to find my place with the starters in my rookie year, and it was tough at times," Rainford said. "We had a full year of practice in the COVID year and I know my teammates a lot better now, and it's easier for me to fit into the lineup." 

The Panther offence struggled early, but Rainford finally got them on the board and helped them cut into Memorial's lead with back-to-back threes. Ellsworth then drove to the basket for the and-one opportunity for three of 14 points as the home team pulled ahead 9-7. Ellsworth also added 10 rebounds for the double-double. 

Known for their stingy defence, UPEI swarmed the Sea-Hawks and held Memorial scoreless for more than five minutes, allowing the lead to grow. Devon Lawlor and Reese Baxendale closed the quarter with three-pointers, as the Panthers carried a 17-9 lead into the second.

Rainford said a point of emphasis this season has been defence and that five-minute stretch proved to be the turning point.

"Defence has been pretty much all we're doing in practise," said Rainford, who also recorded four steals and two blocks. "We want to become a better defensive team and that was our focus today." 

Carly Stevenson and Rebecka Ekström scored four quick points for the Sea-Hawks to start the second, but a triple from Alicia Bowering, a corner jumper from Reilly Sullivan and back-to-back layups from Rainford pushed the lead back up to 26-17. 

The Panthers continued to ride the hot hand, as Rainford scored the next four points before a Baxendale three made it 33-21. Rainford had 16 points at the break, where they led 35-27. Baxendale meanwhile had six and finished with 15. 

UPEI came out of the break firing from three, as Ellsworth, Baxendale and Rainford all connected, pushing the lead to 44-32 three minutes into the third.

The Panthers have shot the ball well from beyond the arc despite the large volume of attempts. They've already attempted 71 threes through two games, but Gamblin isn't too concerned since they're taking those shots in the flow of the offence.

"We're not coming down shooting the first three we see. We're creating open threes. We're driving, we're kicking, we're skipping and that ends up being threes we take at practice," Gamblin. 

After Ekstrom made it a 10-point game, Rainford went back to work and followed up a triple with a pullup jumper, extending their advantage to 53-38.

Down 19 in the opening minutes of the fourth, Emma Power scored eight points in a Sea-Hawks 10-2 run, which cut the deficit to 63-50. Power finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Ekstrom and Hannah Green scored 12 apiece. Green added nine rebounds and was one short of a double-double in the loss. 

A Power layup cut it to 11, but that's as close as they'd get as the Panthers improved to 2-0 with the 71-57 win. 

The Panthers head on the road for the first time next weekend, where they'll take on the Dalhousie Tigers.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan