UNB Wins Big Over Dal

(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Varsity Reds punched their ticket to next weekend's Subway Atlantic University Sport Women's Basketball Championship with an 83-56 win over the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday.

Nicole Esson(Fredericton, NB) scored 14 points to lead the Varsity Reds, while Hannah Currie(Collingwood, ON) added 12 and Emily MacLeod(Fredericton, NB) chipped in 11.

All but one Varsity Red scored points in the win.

Grace Simpson(Fredericton, NB) came off the UNB bench to score seven points and grab four rebounds. She was named the Subway Player of the Game. Simpson was also presented with the Fallen Soldier Memorial Award, as Friday was Soldier Appreciation Night.

"We played to win, but we also played for a way bigger cause," said Simpson. "It's nice that these guys can come. We play basketball, and that's a lot of work, but these guys do way more than that."

Chelsea Slawter-Wright(Dartmouth, NS) scored a game-high 18 points for the Tigers.

Robertha Charles(Montreal, QC) added 10.

They were the only Tigers to score in double figures.

"We did not take care of it on the defensive end today," said fourth year Tigers guard Diedre Alexander(Woodstock, NB). "They outplayed us and we didn't get the stops we needed, so it was quite simple."

UNB shot 68% from the field.

The Varsity Reds raced out to a 12-2 lead, forcing the Tigers to call time out just 4:59 in.

That did little, as UNB went on a 6-0 run after the time out, building an 18-4 lead.

Runs of 7-0 and 8-0 allowed UNB to take a 52-24 lead into the half.

The Tigers rebounded slightly in the second half, outscoring UNB by a single point, but falling 83-56.

With the win, the Varsity Reds are now 9-and-10, and currently hold sixth place in the AUS standings.

"That was a big win," said Simpson. "Especially since we'd lost to them, it feels a lot better to come back and beat them by this much. It gives us confidence going into the playoff season."

The Tigers, who've lost six straight, are now 5-and-14. They're seventh in the AUS, and will finish out of the playoffs.

Dal travels to UPEI on Saturday, for a 6:00pm tip-off.

The Varsity Reds play their final home and regular season game, hosting St FX. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00pm.

RECAP AND PHOTOS BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics