Axewomen sweep weekend matchup against visiting Panthers

WOLFVILLE, NS—The Acadia Axewomen got the win over the UPEI Panthers 88-69 on Sunday afternoon at Stu Aberdeen Court to sweep the weekend match-up against the Panthers. 

Acadia's Haley McDonald (Port Williams, N.S.) was named The Subway Player of the Game. McDonald scored 36 points (12 – 15 from the floor, 8 – 9 from three) to go along with 4 rebounds in just 26 minutes of play. McDonald threatened her own record of 51 points in a game, after posting 26 points at the halftime break. 

"Yesterday, I think our try level was a little bit down, specifically the defense and offense. I don't think we got cooking offensively and defensively we let their "go-to players" have their way with us. So today our emphasis was to try a little bit harder, hustle, and move the ball offensively, which I think we really did well," noted McDonald after the game. 

For the Panthers, Karla Yepez (Quito, ECU) netted a team-high 15 points along with 8 rebounds. 

The Axewomen took a commanding 55 – 36 lead into halftime. McDonald led the way with a near-perfect half (9 – 10 from the field, 7 – 7 from three). 

The Axewomen's offence was electric all game, as a team posted 48.4/52.0/92.9 shooting splits and held a 34-point lead toward the end of the third quarter. 

Acadia showed their strength on the glass, outrebounding UPEI 41 – 28. This rebounding advantage was helped by Sarah Delorey (Elmsdale, N.S.), who put up 11 points and 11 rebounds to secure a double-double. 

The Panthers made a concentrated effort to score inside, with over half of their points coming from the paint (38 points in the paint). UPEI's physicality on offence also showed up in the free throw category as they added another 22 points from the line. Lauren Rainford (Toronto, Ont.) showed the ability to draw contact, adding 10 points (5 – 5 from the line) along with 4 assists. 

This win brings the Axewomen to a  4 – 0 record, while the Panthers fall to 2 – 2. Both teams play next on Friday, November 11th. The Axewomen play at home versus the Cape Breton Capers at 6:00 pm, while the Panthers will return home to play the StFX X-Women at 6:00 pm.

RECAP BY: Ryan Wallace, Acadia Sports Information / PHOTOS BY: Peter Oleskevich