(ST. JOHN'S, NL) Jayda Veinot (Port Williams, NS) scored a game-high 31 points to lead the UNB REDS in a 74-68 win over the Memorial Sea-Hawks, Friday evening, in St. John's.

"It was a gritty road win for us tonight," said REDS' head coach Erin McAleenan. "We found a way to fight through some adversity and had some key contributions."

With the win, the REDS improve to 12-and-1 and clinch a spot in the Atlantic University Sport Championship Tournament, in February.

In the early moments of the opening quarter, both teams struggled offensively before the REDS seized the momentum, building a 10-6 lead and led 19-18 after the first.

In the second, the teams swapped the lead several times.

At the half, the home team led 33-31.

UNB opened the third quarter with a Veinot three-pointer to go up 34-33 and the teams, briefly, traded baskets.

Led by Veinot and Katie Butts (Ottawa, ON), the REDS pushed their lead to 47-43 and were ahead 54-49 at the end of the third.

Memorial's Hannah Green (Flatrock, NL) and Alana Short (Barrie, ON) hit three-point shots early in the fourth quarter as the Sea-Hawks briefly gained control.

An aggressive UNB offence forced the Sea-Hawks to take fouls down the stretch and the REDS regained the lead and never looked back, winning 74-68.

Butts finished the night with 23 points.

"I thought Jayda and Katie really carried the bulk of the load," said Coach McAleenan. "It's never easy to get a win on the road, so we're happy to walk away with that one."

Short led Memorial with 16 points, while Rebecka Ekstrom (Stockholm, SWE) added 15.

The loss drops Memorial's record to 5-and-8. The Sea-Hawks are in a four-way tie for fourth place in the standings.

The REDS and Sea-Hawks conclude their weekend series on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm Atlantic.

RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics with files from MUN Athletics

PHOTOS BY: UCE Photos/for MUN Athletics