Fredericton, NB - The St. Thomas University Tommies pulled away with a 73-44 win over the Universiity of King's College Blue Devils at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym. Vanessa Soffee (Fredericton, NB) led the way with 18 points, while Olina Ross (Victoria, BC) came off the bench to deliver with 12 points. Jaiden Penney made her Tommies regular season debut with seven points and seven rebounds. Norah Quinlan and Lauren Ford had 10 points and five rebounds each for UKC, while Kayleigh Garland also had 10 points and added eight rebounds.
The Tommies got off to a slow start, going down 16-2 early before starting to find their groove. STU head coach Fred Connors said despite the slow start, his team showed a lot of energy the first few minutes.
"UKC came out playing very well and very aggressive," Connors said. "We just tried to settle them down and get back to simple stuff and we did. We were able to get some momentum back."
Quinlan, entering the game averaging 21 points per game, came out hot with two 3-pointers and a long two.
"We did a nice job of tiring her legs out," Connors said. Quinlan only made one field goal after the first quarter. "She still got some good looks in the second half ... but I think by that time, we had taken her out of her shooting rhythm.
STU went on a 20-6 run after Connors called a timeout and finished the first quarter only trailing 22-16, despite shooting 4-19 from the field.
STU picked up right where they left off in the second quarter, quickly taking a lead. Soffee ended the half with a three pointer before picking up one of her three steals of the game, coming back down the court and pulling up from the elbow to extend the Tommies lead to 26-31. The Tommies won the quarter 20-9.
STU kept up their defensive pressure in the second half and held UKC to 13 points in the second half, shutting them out in the fourth quarter, ending with a 73-44 win for their second win this season. The Tommies are now 2-1 and will be back on the court Nov. 13 for a rematch of the 2021-22 ACAA finals with the Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics. Tip-off is at 1:00 at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym. The Blue Devils fall to 0-3 and will tip off against the Mount Allison University Mounites Nov. 20 at home. Tip-off is at 2:00.
