Summer’s long gone.
What players did over those summer months and into the early fall will begin to come clearer beginning tonight.
Atlantic University Sport opened its women’s basketball season Wednesday in Halifax when the hometown Dalhousie University Tigers dropped a 64-50 decision to the Acadia University Axewomen of Wolfville, NS.
There was Maritime Women’s Basketball Association flavour in the game with five players seeing action.
Samantha Russell, Bianca Helmig and Taya Dixon are with Acadia after sharing court time last season with the MWBA’s Halifax Thunder. Russell earned 14 points and had nine rebounds, Helmig, who played the entire 40 minutes, added nine points, eight boards and three steals. Dixon scored eight.
The Tigers have Melina Collins and Samantha Manieri of the Halifax Hornets in their lineup. Collins hit for 11 points and had nine rebounds. Manieri earned 26 minutes and had six points.
AUS action continues Friday when St. Francis Xavier University X-Women visit Memorial University Seahawks in St. John’s, NL, and University of New Brunswick Reds welcome University of Prince Edward Island Panthers to Fredericton.
Both games are 6 p.m. starts.
On Saturday, UPEI tangles with UNB again at 2 p.m. while Cape Breton University Capers visit Saint Mary’s University Huskies in Halifax at 4 p.m. A pair of 6 p.m. tilts have Memorial hosting St. FX and Dalhousie facing Acadia in a return engagement.
Saint Mary’s hits the road Sunday to face the Capers.
Meanwhile, Vanessa Soffee of the MWBA’s Fredericton Freeze player her first Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association with Hamilton’s Mohawk College Mountaineers. Mohawk defeated its close rival Redeemer College Royals of Ancaster, 80-58.
Soffee, who starred for four seasons with St. Thomas University Tommies of the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association, earned 18 minutes of action, scoring two points, dishing six assists and adding three steals.
Mohawk faces Niagara College Knights of Welland.
The ACAA will wait until Nov. 1 to kick off its regular season.
– Melina Collins is with Dalhousie University Tigers. (DWinston Photo)
