Women’s Basketball open season with overtime win
The Women’s Basketball Tigers opened their AUS season with a 63-59 OT win over the UNB Varsity Reds on Friday, Nov. 6 at the Dalplex.
“It’s a good way to start,” said Tigers head coach and 2014-15 AUS Coach of the Year Anna Stammberger.
“Especially because we picked up the win with defense. We’re gonna have to do that this year, we’re gonna need to defend better than we did last year and we’re starting out doing just that, so I’m really happy about that.”
The Tigers were led by fifth-year player and team captain Tessa Stammberger who had a game-high 22pts to go with 7 REB and 3A. Nicole Lafleur had 12pts to lead the Varsity Reds.
It was a back-and-forth game between the two sides with neither team being able to build a big lead.
The Varsity Reds were able to get open looks in the paint early in the first quarter but could not get their shots to drop shooting 4 of 16 for 25 per cent from the field in the frame. The Tigers did a great job capitalizing on their chances shooting 6 of 11 for 54 per cent from the field. The game was tied up at 15-15 after the first.
In the second quarter the Tigers D did a great job of keeping the Varsity Reds out of the paint and forcing them to shoot from the perimeter. The Tigers won the quarter 14-12 for a 29-27 lead at the half.
The third quarter continued to be tightly contested. Tessa Stammberger and Shalyn Field scored all Tigers points in the frame with seven each. The teams tied the frame 14-14 and the Tigers took a 43-41 lead into the fourth.
The Varsity Reds stormed to a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, but first-year Tiger Michela Barresi drained a big three to get the Tigers back in it. Tessa Stammberger forced a turnover and was fouled with 56 seconds left in the quarter. She made two clutch free-throws to even the score at 54-54.
“I liked that we won the game on the line,” said Anna Stammberger. “We shot on the foul-line better than the opponent, that’s really important in close games.”
The Varsity Reds had the last possession of regulation but Nicole Lafleur missed her jumper at the buzzer. The game went to OT at 54-54 after the Varsity Reds won the fourth 13-11.
Tessa was huge for the Tigers in OT scoring six of the Tigers nine points in the five-minute frame. The Tigers outscored the Varsity Reds nine to five in overtime to win the game 63-59.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Tessa Stammberger on picking up a win in the opening game of the season. “It was good for getting that confidence, getting it started and knowing that we’re capable of that.”
Coach Stammberger was happy with the way her team stepped up to the challenge in their first game.
“Different people (stepped up) at different times,” said Stammberger. “Sophie (Gaube) went in and got some key hoops, Meghan Thompson, these are first year kids. Ainsley (MacIntyre) played hard and got key rebounds, it’s really not just one person … we’ve gotta come in and win as a cohesive unit and we have great team culture and I think that is going to take us far (this year).”
Women’s Basketball Tigers fall to Varsity Reds
In the second game of a back-to-back set against the UNB Varsity Reds, the Tigers lost 73-45 on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Dalplex. The loss evened the Tigers record at 1-1 on the season.
“We had an obvious defensive breakdown in the second half,” said Tigers head coach Anna Stammberger. “Whether it was mental fatigue or physical fatigue or a lack of awareness, a lack of competitiveness but they scored 52 points in the second half and that is inexcusable. We need to play defense for 40 minutes and if not teams will do that.”
The game started as a continuation of Friday night’s game with the first half a tightly contested affair. The teams tied the first quarter 11-11 and the Tigers took the second quarter 12-10 for a 23-21 lead at the half.
The Varsity Reds came out for the third quarter looking like a completely different team. They went 9 of 18 from the field for 50 per cent shooting in the frame and 5 of 8 from three-point land shooting 62.5 per cent from downtown to blow the game open with a 24-point quarter.
The Tigers were also hot from beyond the arc in the third, hitting four of five for 80 per cent. All four of those threes came from the hands of Tessa Stammberger, who went four for four in the frame and had 12 of the Tigers 16 points in the third.
The Varsity Reds went into the fourth up 45-39 and did not look back. They shot an insane 11 of 14 from the field good for 78.6 per cent. The Tigers went stone cold in the frame, shooting three of 16 for 18.8 per cent from the field.
The Varsity Reds outscored the Tigers 28-6 in the fourth on their way to the 73-45 final. Four of their starters scored in double digits with Laura Kaye dropping 17pts to lead the way.
Tessa Stammberger was the top Tiger again, finishing with 24pts on nine of 13 from the field including five of five from three.
“Today we showed that we have to stay consistent,” said Tessa. “It’s work to win. You can’t just rely on, ‘Oh yeah, we just beat them yesterday, it’s gonna happen again,’ that’s definitely not the way it goes. We’re just going to learn from this.”
Tiger’s B-ball sweep Sea-Hawks at the Dalplex
Women’s Tigers win 65-57
The Tigers Basketball Women beat the Memorial Seahawks 65-57 at the Dalplex on Friday, Nov. 13. The win boosted the Tigers’ record to 2-1 on the season.
“We’re pleased with the result,” said Tigers head coach Anna Stammberger. “[…] I think St. Mary’s at the moment on paper has the stronger group, but the rest of the league is quite even … so every game is a big game and every time we win a game it’s a big win for us.”
The Tigers once again were led on the scoreboard by Tessa Stammberger who finished with 22pts on six of 11 shooting, three of five from three and seven of eight from the line. The biggest storyline of the win for the Tigers was the big game from first year Sophie Gaube. Gaube dropped 17pts on five of 10 from the field, one of three from three and six of eight from the line. She was aggressive all game on both sides of the court.
The first quarter was the best frame for the Tigers, as they jumped out in front 21-12 heading into the second. Tessa, Gaube and Ainsley MacIntyre each had 5pts to lead the Tigers in the opening 10 minutes.
The Tigers continued their strong play in the second quarter. Gaube lead the way in the frame dropping another 6pts to help the Tigers win the frame 17-9. The Tigers went into the half up big 38-21.
The Seahawks looked like a different team in the third quarter scoring as many points in those 10 minutes as they did in the opening 20. They won the frame 21-13 and shrunk the Tigers’ lead to 51-42 heading into the fourth.
The Tigers were able to stave off the Seahawks’ comeback attempt in the fourth. Tessa and Gaube added 4pts a piece including a clutch Gaube jump-shot with 2:49 to go that made it 61-57 after the Sea-Hawks had worked to within two points of the lead. The Sea-Hawks won the fourth 15-14 to make the 65-57 final.
Gaube playing in only her third AUS game was proud of the way her team battled in the game.
“It feels great getting the W,” said Gaube. “We just went out, worked our hardest … we never gave up and went for the win. We have a lot of new players this year but everyone is really stepping up and playing their role it’s awesome.”
Women’s Tigers win 64-62
The Tigers Basketball women picked up a 64-62 win over the Memorial Seahawks on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Dalplex. The win gave the Tigers a 3-1 record to start the year.
“It feels great,” said fourth-year Tiger Ainsley MacIntyre on picking up the win.
“We’re a very young team, we have six rookies … I think it’s game-ending situations like this that are going to help us at the end of the season when games are close and it comes down to those spots for the bye and for the playoffs.”
The Tigers got off to a fast start winning the first quarter 24-12. They led by as many as 15 in the frame. Tessa Stammberger led the early charge with 12pts in the quarter.
The second quarter saw both teams struggle to score. The Sea-Hawks took the frame 9-7 on a last second layup by Sydney Stewart to build some momentum heading into the half. The Tigers were still up 31-21 at the break.
The SeaHawks came out of the gate firing in the third quarter. They shot 11 of 15 from the field for 73.3 per cent on their way to winning the frame 29-12. The Tigers not only saw their lead erased but found themselves trailing 50-43 heading into the fourth.
The Seahawks stretched their lead to 11 at 54-43 to start the fourth. That was when MacIntyre sparked her team to come back. She hit two free-throws and a jumper on the next two Tigers possessions.
Then Christina Brown drilled back-to-back J’s, Sophie Gaube hit a couple of free-throws and Diedre Alexander buried a three to cap a 13-0 Tigers run and give them the lead, 56-54.
“It was so up and down,” said Tigers head coach Anna Stammberger. “We got a pretty good start and went up by 15, but it’s a game of runs and both teams are relatively young and they showed that tonight.”
A layup by Stewart with 20 seconds left in the fourth tied the game up at 62-62 and set up the Tigers with a final shot to win. Alexander got the ball up top and had her number called. She drove the ball through the lane to her left and finished with the left hand off the window for the game winning shot.
“We got it done,” said Stammberger. “We kept believing in ourselves and kept supporting each other and kept working hard and got the game turned around. It shows great teamwork and great belief and heart so I’m really happy about that.”
Men’s Tigers win 73-60
The Tigers Men’s Basketball team won 73-60 over the Memorial Seahawks on Friday, Nov. 13 at the Dalplex. The win moved the Tigers’ record to 3-0 on the season.
“It’s always good to pick up a W,” said Tigers head coach Rick Plato. “Especially against a really good team like that. Our defensive pressure was the difference in the game. Our boys played hard, executed the game-plan especially in the first half.”
The Tigers got a big performance from Kashrell Lawrence who finished with 18pts and 15 boards for a monster double-double.
The Tigers got off to a fast start in the first quarter. They dropped 28 points in the frame sparked by a 10-point effort by Jarred Reid off the bench for a 28-18 lead going into the second.
The game slowed down in the second quarter, as both teams clamped down defensively. The Tigers won the second as well 12-6 to take a 40-24 lead into the half.
Things heated up again in the third quarter. The Seahawks used a balanced attack and had all five starters score on their way to taking the frame 20-18. A Caleb Gould layup cut the Tigers lead to six at 50-44 but that was as close as the Sea-Hawks would get. The score heading into the fourth was 58-44 Tigers.
The fourth quarter was evenly fought. The Sea-Hawks ended up taking the frame 16-15 to make the 73-60 final.
Lawrence was happy with the team’s performance.
“It feels great,” said Lawrence on the team’s win. “I think every game, we’re getting better. We fix the mistakes we make game after game. We do everything everyday to get better, whether it’s workouts in the morning or we do team yoga sometimes. We just want to push ourselves to get better so we can keep compiling these wins.”
Tigers Men win 73-62
The Men’s Basketball Tigers won again on Saturday Nov. 14 topping the Memorial Sea-Hawks 73-62 at the Dalplex. The win has the Tigers sitting undefeated with a 4-0 start to the season.
Tigers head coach Rick Plato knew what got his team the win.
“Great defense,” said Plato. “The boys played really well defensively. The thing with this team is … everyone is really really tough and everyone has one another’s back.”
The Tigers got off to a good start in the first, taking the opening frame 20-13. Ritchie Kanza Mata led the Tigers with 5pts in the quarter.
The Seahawks took the second 17-15 to make the game 35-30 Tigers at halftime.
The teams battled hard in the third and the Tigers came out on top 18-15 in the frame. The Tigers took a 53-45 lead into the fourth. First year Tiger Sascha Kappos led the way with 6pts on three of three from the field.
“What I really took away from this game is that the big guy looks like he can play here,” said Plato. “Sascha Kappos is gonna be one heck of a player. He’s got a nice touch and he went against one of the best big men in the country (Vasilije Curcic) and he held his own.”
The Tigers were able to hold off any Seahawks charge in the fourth. The Seahawks did win the final frame 17-15 for the 73-62 final.
Cedric Sanogo had an impressive game for the Tigers finishing with 13pts on 5 of 9 shooting and two of four from three.
“We expected it,” said Sanogo of his team’s quality performance. “We wanted to win and we got it. Coach tells us to bring aggressiveness and intensity every game and that’s what we did.“
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