Axewomen claim 81-44 victory over X-Women

Antigonish, N.S. - The Acadia Axewomen (3-5) cruised to an 81-44 victory over the winless StFX X-Women (0-8) Friday evening in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) basketball action at the Oland Centre.

In the fourth quarter, the visitors outscored the X-Women 24-0.

Acadia jumped to a 9-2 edge in the first quarter, led by the scoring of guard Paloma Anderson (Phoenix, AZ) and forward Alexandra Berry (Yarmouth, NS).

Off the bench, sophomore Jamie McCarron (New Glasgow, NS), with four points, helped the home side trim the deficit to 17-14, after the opening 10 minutes.

Keyed by six points from senior guard Chanel Smith (Halifax, NS), Acadia rode a 11-0 run to a 28-20 lead.

After the X-Women chipped away at the disadvantage, the Axewomen finished the second quarter on a 15-2 burst, with Anderson scoring 13 of her 21 first-half points.

Acadia led 43-25 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the X-Women pulled to within 11 points, after consecutive three-pointers from Holly Scott (Antigonish, NS), her team's player of the game, and freshman guard Jessica Miller (Mount Denson, NS).

After a buzzer-beating shot from Subway player of the game Kelsey Rice (Beaver Bank, NS), the Axewomen were up 57-44 after three quarters.

Rice, who finished with a double-double - 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds - along with two assists and two steals, helped Acadia pull away in the fourth quarter.

Offensively, for the Axewomen, Anderson finished with a game-high 26 points, while adding four rebounds and seven steals.

Berry and Smith finished with 10 points apiece, while the latter chipped in seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Off the bench, Scott finished with a team-high 16 points for the X-Women, including four three-pointers, while Miller also scored in double digits, with 10. She also added five assists and two steals.

Freshman guard Caroline Hrabinski (Toronto, ON) corralled a team-high seven rebounds.

The X-Women will return to the court Saturday, Jan. 7, when they host the UNB Varsity Reds. The Axewomen will be back in action Tuesday, Jan. 10, when they visit the Dalhousie Tigers in Halifax.

Tip-off for both match-ups is 6 p.m.