The UPEI Panthers will advance to meet Saint Mary’s in the AUS final on Sunday after an incredible team effort. Strategy proved to be the difference for the Panthers who kept it close until they struck in the fourth to sink the Dalhousie Tigers.
Terrilyn Herrick led the way for the Panthers with 12 points on the day during the comeback win. The Panthers outscored the Tigers by 13 points in the fourth, which proved to be the difference.
Panthers head coach Mark English came prepared for the Tigers, after UPEI lost the season series 3-1.
“We have a lot of veterans on this team and that made the difference for us in the fourth quarter,” said English.
After going 1-1 against the Huskies this season, the Panthers are ready for Sunday’s final, according to coach English. “They make you take the shots you don’t want to take, but we’re ready to work around it.”
Courtney Thompson led the way for the Tigers with 27 points on the afternoon, but it wasn’t enough for the team to advance. The Panthers shut down Thompson in the fourth, holding her to just two points. “We never gave up and played hard the whole way through to get the win in the end,” said Panthers guard Amy Gough.
With a clutch three from Panthers’ Candace Smith, a mere three points separated the teams at the end of the first quarter.
After a hard fought second quarter, the Tigers carried a 35-29 lead into the half. Thompson led all players with 14 points halftime and grabbed four rebounds.
The Panthers were heavily relying on bench points with their point production being spread across the team.
The third quarter saw the game escalate physically with several questionable non-calls. Plenty of pushing and shoving left bodies strewn across the court. The Panthers weren’t helping their own cause with several missed shots from key locations. The Tigers were making the most of their opportunities, but despite their efforts the Panthers pulled it within two.
After a slow start to the half, the Panthers turned up the intensity and made several shots from in tight to the hoop. With one quarter remaining the score sat at 50-48, setting the stage for dramatic finish.
The Panthers started off the fourth in style with back-to-back threes to take their first lead since early in the game. The Panthers drew several offensive fouls out of the Tigers to help extend their lead to seven. The Tigers didn’t aide their cause with several missed shots as the clock was down to the final two minutes.
Poor clock management with a minute to go and repeated missed shots from beyond the arc cost the Tigers the game.
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