Fredericton, NB - The St. Thomas University Tommies dropped their final home regular season game of the season 70-59 against the Holland College Hurricanes Sunday afternoon at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym.
Karla Benitez led the Hurricanes with a game high 23 points off a 9-15 performance from the field. Benitez added six rebounds and three assists to her stat line while Sheleese Hoilett backed her up with 18 points. Lauren Armstrong was a bully in the key, grabbing 16 rebounds.
Vanessa Soffee (Fredericton, NB) came up big for the Tommies again with 19 points and seven rebounds while Celine Sterckel (Moncton, NB) added 12 points off the bench.
The first five minutes saw both teams struggle to get their engines warm - a layup from Benitez would be the only two points for three minutes before Sam Stordy (Moncton, NB) tied it for the Tommies. STU would score twice more within the next few minutes as the low scoring game saw only eight points in the first six minutes before Benitez's three would get the ball rolling. The first quarter ended 16-11 for the Tommies. The Hurricanes would respond with the game changing second quarter.
Holland ended the half with a 14-2 run, winning the quarter 28-12 - a 10-minute period Tommies' head coach Fred Connors wished he could get back.
"We had a really good first quarter but boy I'd love that second quarter back," Connors said. "We got rattled and I thought our defense was holding us in for a while, but we gave up 28 points ... [Holland] is hard to come back from."
The Tommies made ground the remainder of the game, winning the third quarter 18-17 and getting as close as five points away from a tie. Heading into the final 10 minutes only down 10, the Hurricanes were able to fend off the surging Tommies, closing them out with the 70-59 win.
"They made some tough shots and we could never really get a run going," Connors said. "Our offence is still a work in progress."
The Tommies fall to 11-6, fourth in the ACAA. They'll head to Sackville for their final regular season game against the Mount Allison University Mounties on Feb. 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
The Hurricanes move to 11-4, second in the ACAA. They'll visit Halifax for a battle with the University of King's College Blue Devils Feb. 22 for a 6:00 PM scheduled tip-off.
