Hoop X-Women kick off season at Dalhousie Invitational

The 2010-11 X-Women basketball team kicked off their season at the annual Dalhousie Subway Invitational in Halifax over the weekend, posting a 1-2 record.

"I thought the weekend was a great chance for our team to grow and be in game situations," commented X-Women head coach Matt Skinn.

"We have a lot of new players in the line-up, so we are still getting used to each other on the floor. As a group, we are also trying to figure out the kind of effort it takes on a nightly basis for us to be successful. Despite the 1-2 record, I am really excited about this team and our possibilities. As we continue to work hard and grow, we should improve on a daily basis."

The X-Women opened the tournament against the Brock Badgers and Halifax native Hillary Woodside. In their first action of the year the blue and white lost a close two point game to the hands of the Badgers by a 79-77 score. Fifth year senior Ashley Stephen lead the way for the X-Women with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while second year guard Rebecca Sheehan chipped in with 17 points of her own. Leading the way for Brock was Emily McKay who netted 19 points.

Day two of the tournament saw the X-Women take on UQAM from the QSSF conference and they came out on top of a 58-49 game. After an extremely low scoring first quarter which saw X score just six points and UQAM four, StFX found themselves trailing at half 24-18. It was the stifling X-Women defense and hard work implemented by head coach Matt Skinn that brought the X-Women all the way back in the second half as they jumped on the Citadens, scoring 40 points, and holding their opposition to just 25 points.

First year player Katerina Kolarova was the leading scorer for the X-Women netting 11 points, while Kirsten Jones was a monster on the glass with 10 rebounds.

The final day of the tournament saw StFX take on Carleton University from Ottawa.In a heartbreaking loss, the X-Women fell 67-66 after missing a last second shot. Leading the charge for StFX was again second year guard Rebecca Sheehan with 21 points and 3 rebounds, while transfer Donisha Young had a solid game with eight points and six rebounds.

The tournament proved to be a good test for the X-Women as they got to play together for the first time this year after adding six new faces to their roster over the off-season.

Next on the schedule, the X-Women will head to Laval, QC to play in a tournament on the upcoming weekend where they will face Laval, Queen’s and Montreal. They will be back in action at home on Oct. 30th when they will host Dalhousie in exhibition action.

Story courtesy Mat MacDonald