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Hoop X-Women pick up first win of the season over Tigers

The STFX X-Women defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 79-57 at Dalplex Friday night in a four-point game.The X-Women earned their first victory of the season, while the Tigers were remain winless.

Photo credit Kate Collings
Photo credit Kate Collings
Box Score
November 25, 2022

Halifax, NS - The STFX X-Women defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 79-57 at Dalplex Friday night in a four-point game.The X-Women earned their first victory of the season, while the Tigers were remain winless.

It was an evenly-played contest to begin the game. Through the first eight minutes of the first quarter, the two teams weren't separated by more than two points in any offensive or defensive statistical category.

The Tigers used an occasional zone defence to throw off the X-Women offence, whereas the visitors relied on more high ball pressure to harass their opponents in the back court and at the point of attack.

The first quarter may not have ended quite as tightly-contested as it started, but the X-Women still held a 19-17 lead to end the quarter.

STFX opened up the second quarter on a 7-0 run, not allowing the Tigers to get any easy shots and generally making things difficult for the home side. The Tigers finally got on the board halfway through the quarter thanks to a driving layup by Mercy Olugu (Halifax, NS).

The X-Women rode their excellent defence throughout the second quarter, and paired it with some timely buckets to lead by 11 points with two minutes to go.

However, the Tigers swiftly ramped up their intensity to match the X-Women and were rewarded with an 8-0 run to end the quarter. What looked to be a significant halftime lead for STFX was suddenly just 31-28 for the visitors at the break.

STFX's Aliyah Fraser (New Glasgow, NS) led all scorers at halftime with 10 points. Leading the way for Dalhousie was Kelsey Crocker (St.John's, NL) with nine points.

The X-Women again came out the stronger team to start the first action of the third quarter. SFFX went on a 11-2 run over the first three and a half minutes, forcing Dalhousie to conjure up another comeback.

The Tigers continued to apply different defensive schemes, including a full-court press and a well-coordinated scrambling/switching half-court defence, in an attempt to throw off their opponents. Both of which created problems for STFX, but weren't enough to bring the Tigers back into the game as their shots on the other end weren't falling.

A fast break three-pointer from Katie Upham (North River, NS) with 13 seconds left looked like a potential dagger from the visitors as they led 57-41 at the end of three.

And so it proved in the fourth quarter. Despite the spirited fight from the Tigers, throughout the game the X-Women were able to find better shots (50% shooting percentage to Dalhousie's 30%) thanks to their superior off-ball cutting and ball movement (18 assists to Dalhousie's seven).

The game would ultimately end 79-57 in favour of the visiting X-Women.

Katie Upham almost had a triple-double to lead the way for the X-Women, finishing with nine points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.

STFX guard Laia Torrent (Barcelona, SP) earned Subway player of the game honours, finishing with eight points and four steals.

Mercy Olugu had 11 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Tigers.

Both teams are back in action tomorrow evening. Dalhousie lines up against UPEI in a four-point game at Dalplex with a 6pm tipoff. STFX will host UNB in another four-point game, also at 6pm.

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Recap courtesy Jack Longo, Dalhousie Athletics