Panthers’ strong third quarter propels them to 73-59 win

By Thomas Becker

The UPEI Panthers have benefitted from strong third-quarter performances at home all season, and Friday night's game was no different, as they outscored the St. FX X-Women by nine in the decisive frame en route to a 73-59 win. 

Lauren Rainford scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the third and led the charge down the stretch. She was one of three Panthers (3-2) to finish in double figures, which included Karla Yepez, who finished with 17 points, seven assists, and six rebounds, and Alicia Bowering with 14 points. 

"For us, it's a big priority to take care of home court," Yepez said. "We just came out here and tried to take care of business."

After surrendering the first four points, the X-Women (0-5) responded with five of their own to take the early lead.

However, UPEI held their opponent scoreless for close to seven minutes as they closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 17-9 advantage into the second. Yepez and Rainford combined for 11 of those points. 

St. FX opened the next quarter with back-to-back threes from Melina Collins and Aliyah Fraser to make it a two-point game. The two teams then traded baskets for a few minutes before Yepez scored four straight to push the lead to 27-20. 

Late in the half, the X-Women drilled three straight triples to cut the deficit, but UPEI still went into the break ahead 33-31. Fraser and Collins led all scorers with 12 apiece, while Yepez had 10 for the Panthers. 

St. FX temporarily took the lead after Fraser's fifth three-pointer of the night, but UPEI countered with an 11-2 run to pull ahead 46-37. Yepez and Rainford had four points each in the key stretch.

After the X-Women were forced to burn a timeout, Rainford connected on her third triple as the Panthers carried a 12-point lead. The two teams would trade baskets the rest of the quarter, where UPEI led 60-49. 

"I thought they (St. FX) were shooting the ball pretty well in the first half, but we adjusted to take care of their shooters," Yepez said. "I thought that was the difference right there. Once we took care of that, we were in a better spot." 

After an offensive outpour in the third, both teams suddenly went cold from the field and combined for five total points in the first 4:40 of the fourth quarter. A Bowering three-pointer with 3:14 remaining, followed by two free throws from Rainford gave UPEI their largest lead on the night before they closed out the 73-59 win. 

Helping in their cause was their pesky defence that forced St. FX into 33 turnovers, leading to 27 extra shots and 35 points. Yepez said she once to see more of the same in Saturday's rematch.

"We have to continue to play better defence. We're a defence-first team, and when we take care of that, things look good for us."

St. FX's Ekaterina Karchevskaya (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Collins (15 points and 10 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles in the loss, while Fraser had a team-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the three-point line. 

Both teams will face each other again Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan