X-Women defeat rival Capers 77-60

By Corey LeBlanc

SYDNEY – Led by a monster performance from versatile forward Ekaterina Karchevskaya (Mogilev, BY), the visiting STFX X-Women (6-8) scored an impressive 77-60 victory over the rival Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (5-10) in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) basketball action on Friday evening at Sullivan Fieldhouse.

After a low-scoring start to the contest, with the teams trading early baskets, the X-Women fashioned a late mini-run and led 20-11 by the end of the first quarter.

On the strength of consecutive baskets from Lauren Neeve (Oro-Medonte, ON), STFX extended its edge to double digits – at 24-11 – in the opening minute of the second quarter.

On one of only a few fast break opportunities for the Capers, Kiyara Letlow (Toronto, ON) found teammate Hailey MacLeod (Marion Bridge, CB) for a sensational lay-up to slice the Caper deficit to single digits.

The White and Blue answered with an 11-3 spurt – one punctuated by a three-pointer from Jaya D'Souza (Brampton, ON) – that mushroomed the visitors' advantage to 35-16.

Junior guard Hannah Smith (Bedford, NS) replied with a bucket from downtown, which ignited a 9-2 rally by the Capers that sliced the X-Women lead to 37-25.

Keyed by seven straight points from Karchevskaya, STFX finished the second quarter on a 12-0 burst and took a 49-25 lead to the locker room.

The X-Women held the Capers to a 26.7 per cent shooting from the field, including bottling up Letlow – the third-leading scorer in the AUS – to only three points on two shot attempts in the first half.

STFX drained 51.4 per cent of their shot attempts, including 50 per cent from beyond the arc.

In the third quarter, the X-Women continued to carry the play, and led by 30 points midway through the stanza.

In the final seconds, Letlow got the Capers to within 18 points, but Neeve hit a shot to make it 63-43 for the X-Women heading to the fourth quarter.

For most of the final 10 minutes, the sides exchanged points, with CBU only able to cut the X-Women edge to 17 points, which came in the final seconds.

The Capers were led by Letlow, with a double-double – 13 points and 12 rebounds – while Smith sank four three-pointers and finished with 12 points. MacLeod and Cruickshank also scored in double digits, with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Karchevskaya finished with a game-high 29 points, while adding three rebounds and three assists, while veteran point guard Katie Upham (North River, NS) filled the stat sheet with nine points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, as part of a balanced X-Women attack.

Karchevskaya and Letlow were named the Chartwells player of the game for their respective teams.

The Capers will return to the court on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 1 p.m., when they travel to Fredericton to face the UNB Reds, while the X-Women will host the Acadia Axewomen on Wednesday, Jan. 31 in a 6 p.m. start in Antigonish.

-30-