(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - The Axewomen basketball team completed their home regular season schedule with a 65-52 loss to the visiting Dalhousie Tigers.
Senior graduating forward Abbey Duinker was honoured following the game along with teammates Kristy Moore, Rita Sibo and Chika Chiekwe before an appreciative crowd of nearly 900.
The Axewomen trailed the Tigers 14-12 after one quarter. Dalhousie jumped out to a 9-2 lead but Acadia answered with six of their own to close within one with a minute and a half left in the first frame. But a buzzer-beating three by Rebecca Nuttall gave the Tigers a 14-12 edge going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Acadia was unable to transition back on defence quickly, resulting in a 9-0 run for the Tigers who were led by Tessa Stammberger with nine points in the second. Dalhousie stretched the lead 35-21 going into the break.
Acadia shot 1-10 from the distant arc in the half while Dalhousie went 4-8 in the opening half.
The Axewomen edged Dalhousie 18-16 in third quarter play, but the Tigers' 12-point lead after three held for the remainder of the game.
Early in the final frame, Abbey Duinker cut the lead to six, but Dalhousie pushed back to a 14-point lead in the closing four minutes.
Duinker posted 15 points and 12 defensive rebounds and was named Acadia's Subway Player of the Game, while teammates Alexandra Berry and Maire Burke added 10 and eight points respectively. Duinker sits fourth overall in the AUS scoring race with a 16.9 points per game average and is third in rebounds with a 9.0 per game average.
Dalhousie's Courtney Thompson, named the Subway Player of the Game, netted a game-high 20 points that included 2-2 from the three-point line and 8-for-2 from the floor. Tessa Stammberger, Rebecca Nuttall and Robbi Daley added 13, 10 and 10 respectively. Stammberger played the boards hard with 10 rebounds - seven of which were defensive rebounds.
Acadia was just 3-for-22 from the distant arc, while Dalhousie bucketed 7-of-16.
The Tigers, who improve to 8-10, will look for the win to remain ahead of UPEI in fifth spot in the AUS standings, as they host Acadia for the last game of the regular season.
If the Panthers can win their own last game of the season, against StFX and worth four points, UPEI will overtake the Tigers in the standings. The Axewomen drop to 5-13 and will hope to end the season on a winning note with a win in Halifax.
Source: Acadia Sports Information