It’s your favourite time of the week.
As the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association prepares for Week IV of its fifth anniversary season, we’re going to update you with the league’s statistical leaders.
A pair of familiar names have burst out in 2026 after a delay to their season.
Following almost three weeks in Africa with their University of Ottawa Gee Gees teammates, both Bailey Russell and Allie McCarthy are back in a big way for the Fredericton Freeze.
The Freeze has struggled out of the gate at 1-3, but Russell leads the scoring derby at 23.5 points per game.
Maddie Eustace of the Moncton Mystics is second at 20.0 PPG an Justine Colley-Leger of the Halifax Thunder is third at 18.3. Colley-Leger’s teammate Elizabeth Beals-Iseyemi is next at 18.0 and Eve Kalala of the Mystics rounds out the top five with 17 points per tilt.
McCarthy leads all players in minutes per game at 38:35 seconds and Russell is second at 37:57 seconds. Charlee Connors of the Miramichi HerIcanes is at 32:42 seconds and Freeze teammates Paige LeBlanc and Ann Bastien round out the top five at 32:41 seconds and 32:29 seconds, respectively.
The assist leader board is paced by Colley-Leger and her 7.3 dishes per game. Bastien is second at 6.0 and McCarthy and Thunder’s Bianca Helmig share 5.0 per outing. Aki Kobayashi of Halifax Hornets and Ava MacNutt of Thunder are 4.5 assists per game.
McCarthy leads the way with 10.5 rebounds per game, a slight lead over her former Fredericton High Black Kats’ teammate Lucy Beaumont of the Hornets, who is at 10.4 boards. Connors and Fredericton’s Maheva Ngassam have 10.0 RPG while Beals-Iseyemi, Kalala and Thunder’s Sandy Saunders all collect 9.2 rebounds a game.
Lexi MacInnis of Miramichi leads in quick hands deparment with 3.5 steals an outing. Jesse McCarron of Moncton and Eustace are a 3.2 and Colley-Leger and Ella MacDonald of Saint John’s Port City Fog average 3.0 steals per game.
For the plus-minus leaderboard, it’s all Thunder for the top five.
Helmig is a plus 43 and Colley-Leger a plus 36.3. Beals-Iseyemi is a positive 29.8 followed by Kali Grottenboer (+28) and Saunders (+23.8).
Thunder (4-0), Hornets (4-1) and Mystics (4-1) share top spot in the league with eight points.
Fog and Lake City 56ers of Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Preston are 3-2 for six points.
Fredericton sits 1-3, Miramichi is 1-5 and Truro Tidal Queens 0-5.
The fourth week kicks into gear with a key New Brunswick Division clash Thursday night in Fredericton.
The Freeze try and snap a two-game losing skid and even its season head-to-head matchup with the Fog in a 7:30 p.m., start at the Lady Beaverbrook Gymnasium.
That game will be on Pay Per View by visiting www.ao.live
Thunder was off last week, but packs its bags for New Brunswick, beginning Saturday at 2 p.m., facing the Mystics.
That game will be played at Crandall University.
Expansion Truro makes its inaugural foray into New Brunswick to meet the ‘Canes at 6 p.m., at Miramichi Valley High School.
Three games round out the week on Sunday.
Thunder visits Miramichi for a 1 p.m., tilt at MVHS.
The PROLINE Featured Game of the Week is set for 2 p.m., when Hornets host Lake City at Mount St. Vincent University.
Truro finishes its NB swing with a visit to Moncton in a 3 p.m., clash.
The playoff scenario in both provinces is straight forward.
First place in both divisions face the fourth place team and second will mee third.
The playoffs are single elimination, meaning the surviving four teams will compete at the PROLINE Legacy Cup final, set for June 20-21 at the Richard J. Currie Center in Fredericton.
– Allie McCarthy of Fredericton is the league’s workhorse following Week III. (Fran Harris Photo)
