Monster effort from Letlow leads Capers to 78-74 victory over Reds

Monster effort from Letlow leads Capers to 78-74 victory over Reds

By Corey LeBlanc

Sydney, NS – Led by an unstoppable offensive effort from sophomore forward Kiyara Letlow (Toronto, ON), the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (4-4) scored a 78-74 victory over the visiting UNB Reds (4-4) in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women's basketball action at Sullivan Fieldhouse on Friday evening.

Letlow – the Subway player of the game – finished with 40 points and 17 rebounds; yet another double-double on the season for the 2022 U SPORTS rookie of the year. She also contributed four steals to the winning effort.

"I didn't realize I had that many [points]," she said, with a laugh, after the game.

Letlow explained that she was the beneficiary of her team's focus on moving the ball, along with "attacking the paint."

She added, "I was definitely hot tonight, but it was a great team effort. It was a big four points to get – we needed them."

In a low-scoring opening few minutes of the first quarter, sophomore guard Chermensa van la Parra
(Rotterdam, Netherlands) got off to an aggressive start for the Capers, one keyed by a pair of nifty drives to the basket, while UNB point guard Marley Curwin (Halifax, NS) answered with a pair of hoops, as the home side led 8-6.

When freshman forward Darah Fleurgin (Montreal, QC) made a sensational spinning lay-up in traffic, the Capers extended their advantage to 14-6, one that ballooned to 17-8 on a three-point play by Letlow.

After MacKenzee Ryan (Glace Bay, NS) scored four consecutive points, including a pair of free throws, the Capers took a double-digit lead – at 21-10.

Capped off by a two foul shots from Letlow – who finished a monster first quarter with 12 points and six rebounds – CBU led 23-10.

Although the Reds tipped off the second quarter on a high note – with wing Jolianne Guay (Prévost, QC) sinking a three-pointer on their opening possession; by the two-minute mark, they trailed 29-13 after Letlow fashioned another old-fashioned three-point effort.

That's when the UNB attack from downtown kicked in, which included two long distance baskets from Katie McAffee (Lower Knoxford, NB), along with single three-pointers from Curwin and Guay, and the Caper advantaged was trimmed to 31-25.

Sparked by a couple of key drives by Leandra Hersey (Quispamsis, NB), the Capers regained their double-digit edge – at 41-29.

After four unanswered points from the Reds in the final seconds, including a Kylee Speedy (Fredericton, NB) lay-up just before the buzzer, CBU took a 41-33 edge to the locker room at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, ignited by continued hot shooting – particularly from three-point land, the Reds knotted the contest at 43-43 on a Curwin basket from downtown.

Letlow answered with five consecutive points to give the Capers a 48-43 lead midway through the stanza.

Showing off tremendous footwork in making an up-and-under move to the basket, Fleurgin made it 53-48 for CBU, but Ellen Hatt (Fall River, NS) quickly answered for UNB with a three-pointer.

After the teams traded baskets for most of the second half of the third quarter, the Capers ratcheted up the defense and took a 60-51 edge heading into the final 10 minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Speedy and Letlow came out firing for their respective teams, while the Capers pushed their lead to 10 points – at 66-56.

With the Capers up 10 points – the Reds made an 8-0 spurt, one ignited by Speedy and pressure defense – to trim the lead to 70-68, before Ryan answered for CBU with a floater in the lane to break the scoring streak from the visitors.

CBU extended their edge to 75-69 in the final two minutes, but UNB wasn't done; they replied with five straight points, including a Curwin three-pointer, to make it 75-74 with just more than 40 seconds remaining in regulation time.

The Capers scored the final three points – on a Hannah Smith (Bedford, NS) lay-up and Ryan free throw – to seal the deal.

Along with Letlow, Ryan hit double figures for the Capers – with 16 points – while fashioning a double-double with 10 assists.

Curwin and Speedy led the Reds with 15 and 12 points, respectively, while Erin Ingalls (St. George, NB) added 10, while adding five rebounds.

Curwin also chipped in four rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Jayda Veinot contributed a team-high nine rebounds and five points.

The match-up was the final AUS regular season game for both sides in 2022.

At halftime, CBU Athletics honoured the Caper women's soccer program, which captured its 12^th Atlantic University Sport (AUS) banner earlier this month at Acadia University in Wolfville. They also garnered a fourth-place finish at the U SPORTS national championship at Laval.

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