It was the only quarter they won, but it was a big one as the Memorial Sea-Hawks outscored their opponent 28-16 in the third, en route to an 87-79 win over the UPEI Panthers.
Brooklyn Wright was a force in the paint throughout Sunday's matinee, recording a double-double with a game-high 30 points and 12 rebounds to earn Subway Player of the Game.
Memorial (8-8) jumped to a quick 5-0 lead with a Wright layup followed by a three-pointer by Rosie Stanoev. Carolina Del Santo carried over her strong play from the night before and helped the Panthers pull ahead 8-7 with six quick points.
The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, where UPEI (8-8) held a slim 15-14 edge. Stanoev led the way with eight, while Del Santo matched that input with eight as well.
In the early moments of the second, the Panthers extended it to 29-21 behind a 14-7 run. Jenna Mae Ellsworth was the catalyst with six of those points. She finished with a team-high 25.
UPEI was on the verge of breaking this game wide open, but Wright got in the way of that. She single-handedly kept her Sea-Hawks in the game, scoring 13 of her in the quarter. The Sea-Hawks finished with a strong 17-12 run to keep pace with the Panthers, who took a 41-39 advantage into the break.
Memorial came out strong in the second half and was determined to come away with the weekend split. Back-to-back threes by Wright and Jane Baird gave them a 49-43 lead – their first since the 1:35 mark of the first quarter.
The Panthers tightened up on their shooters, but the visiting Sea-Hawks quickly adjusted and capitalized off the dribble for easy lay-ins. Wright continued her stellar play with 11 in the quarter, while Baird chipped in with eight as the road team took control 67-57 with a quarter remaining.
The home team cut it to four on multiple occasions in the fourth, but Memorial held on for the 87-79 win.
Starters Stanoev and Baird finished with 19 and 11 points, respectively, while Haille Nickerson scored 14 off the bench in the win.
By Thomas Becker