(CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.) - Memorial's strong second quarter was the difference as they defeated UPEI 77-72, Sunday afternoon at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre in front of 100 fans.
UPEI came out of the gates looking to repeat their performance from a night ago. The Panthers jumped out to and early 5-0 lead over the visiting Sea-Hawks. Memorial would battle back though, outscoring UPEI 14-11 to trail 16-14 after one quarter.
Memorial maintained the momentum outscoring the Panthers 31-12 in the second quarter, shooting 70 per cent from the field.
The Sea-Hawks' scoring could not have been more balanced as 11 different players contributed to their 45-28 halftime lead. Megan Robinson (Waterloo, Ont.) led the Sea-Hawks with eight while Candace Smith (New Minas, N.S.) had six points for UPEI.
The second half saw the momentum shift back to the Panthers as they came out on the attack outscoring Memorial 27-18 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 63-55 heading into the final quarter.
UPEI continued to chip away at Memorial's lead in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 69 until Memorial pulled away in the final minutes winning 77-72. Memorial's defensive effort was the story of the game with 16 steals and forcing the Panthers into 22 turnovers.
The Sea-Hawks were led by Subway player of the game Megan Robinson (Waterloo, Ont.), leading all scorers with 17 while adding six assists. Sandra Amoah (Toronto, Ont.) chipped in with 12 points, adding five rebounds and four steals.
Laura Power and Terrilyn Herrick paced the Panthers with 12 points each in the loss.
UPEI (6-5) hosts league leading, Saint Mary's (9-0) next Friday night, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Memorial (4-6) travels to Halifax Saturday, Jan. 24 where they will play Dalhousie (7-3) at 6 p.m.
Source: Jonathan Lane for UPEI Sports Communications