The Halifax Hornets hit the road Sunday in defence of their Maritime Women’s Basketball Association’s Legacy Cup championship.
Halifax looked solid, pulling into a 52-35 halftime lead and buzzing its way to a 92-69 win over host Windsor Edge to start the season on the right foot.
The game, played at Avon View High School, was the season opener for both teams.
One other game saw Fredericton Freeze hold serve at home with a 68-51 win over Port City Fog of Saint John. The Fog had posted an opening night win on Saturday at home.
At Windsor, Jasmine Parent popped 17 and powered the Hornets. Eva Widmeyer had 13 and Hannah Brown 10 to help a balanced Halifax offence.
Isa MacKay paced Windsor with 10 points. Chelsea Slawter-Wright and Sydney Foran both had 10.
At Fredericton, a crowd of 258 watched a back-and-forth contest unfold for the second straight day, but the Freeze poured in 39 second half points to pull away from Port City.
Katie Butts powered the Freeze in a classic matchup with Fog post Kaylee Kilpatrick, the two power forwards battling for turf in the paint. Butts finished with 20 points. Katie McAffee hit for 16 including a first half buzzer beating three-pointer from just inside half to give Fredericton a major lift, leading 29-24 at recess. Robbi Daley counted nine.
Reese Baxendale scored 11 for Port City. Jessica Keripe had eight while Kilpatrick and Eavan McLaughlin both had seven.
The Hornets are back in action Tuesday in an all-city battle, facing host Halifax Thunder in a rematch of last year’s championship.
Game time is 7 p.m. at Saint Mary’s University.
Port City hits the road Thursday, visiting Moncton Mystics at 7 p.m. at Harrison Trimble High School.
All six teams will be in Fredericton May 13-14 for a six-game weekend at Bliss Carman Middle School.