UNB opens regular season with 60-54 win over Acadia

The Varsity Reds women's basketball team was able to take a 60-54 win over the Acadia Axewomen in their first game of the regular season. They were able to outshoot Acadia 3-2, and had a strong rebound stat of 33:21.

"One of the big things in the second half was that we had 11 offensive rebounds," said head coach Jeff Speedy. "There's a lot less pressure on a shot if you have some confidence that you are going to get the offensive rebound."

He said the girls managed to relax mentally in the later half of the game, and it allowed them to "shoot shots that we are normally able to make."

But the first half was a slow start. The Reds wouldn't be on the board until around five minutes into the game, coming off the hands of Laura Kaye who hit a three-pointer.

The first quarter ended with a mere 17 points on the board, and the second wouldn't be much better, but by the third the teams really started to get some momentum. The V-Reds got their first lead of the game in the second, 19-17, and they ended the third with two points from Jane Boyle, giving them an eight-point comfort zone to go into the final quarter of the game.

The lead slowly eroded when Axewomen Chanel Smith took a cross-court pass from Emily MacLeod and hit a three, closing the gap. The Axewomen trailed by just three points.

It was all tied up with a left-side layup from Acadia's Keesha Peterson. UNB recovered quickly and Kiley DeLong got them their lead back with two points. Paired with two more three-pointers from Kaye, the V-Reds snagged a lead they would keep until the final buzzer.

Despite their victory, Speedy said the team needs to improve if they want to take another win in their Saturday afternoon game.

"I told them they need to be like the lion in the Wizard Of Oz and get some courage tomorrow because they were just playing scared."

The Varsity Reds host the Acadia Axewomen again on Saturday, November 8, at 3pm. 

Bronte James for UNB Sports Information