It’s come down to four teams in pursuit of an Atlantic University Sport women’s basketball conference crown.
And it all unfolds today.
Following a pair of quarter-final matchups Friday at Scotiabank Place in the Nova Scotia capital, its semifinal Saturday with plenty of Maritime Women’s Basketball Association names in the thick of things.
The opening semifinal is set for 1 p.m. when regular season champion University of New Brunswick Reds tangle with fourth seed St. Francis Xavier University X-Women of Antigonish.
The second semifinal is slated for 6:30 p.m., featuring second seed Acadia University Axewomen of Wolfville, NS, against third seed University of Prince Edward Island Panthers.
The winners meet in Sunday’s 1 p.m., final.
Both UNB and Acadia earned first round byes, but the X-Women and UPEI had to grind out quarter-final dubs.
St. Francis Xavier defeated Saint Mary’s University Huskies of Halifax, 57-48, going on a 20-10 second quarter run to take momentum into the break.
Mali Straker (Saint John’s Port City Fog) drilled 15 points for the X-Women. Abby Mercer (Lake City 56ers of Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Preston) popped 13.
Mercer’s Lake City teammate, Lauren Armstrong, scored 13 and had four rebounds for the Huskies.
Grace Lancaster (Miramichi Her-Icanes) scored 15 points and her MWBA teammate Devon Lawlon sunk a dozen as UPEI topped Memorial University Seahawks of St. John’s, NL., 71-55. Sydney Lawlor (Miramichi) had three for the Panthers.
Amelia Mitchell (Port City) scored seven points for Memorial and added seven boards.
The championship team will represent the AUS at USPORTS Bell Final 8 at Universite de Laval in Quebec City from March 5 to 8.
– Grace Lancaster (with MWBA’s Miramichi) helped lead UPEI to a semifinal berth. (Miramichi Her-icanes Photo)
