Gough and MacDonald lead host Panthers in 67-56 upset over third-seeded Capers

(CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.) - In the second semifinal of the night, the hometown fans were out in droves to support the sixth-seeded UPEI Panthers as they took on third-seeded Cape Breton Capers.

There was only one lead change in the game and it came very early in the contest. The Panthers were able to gain a lead and never looked back. Leading 15-11 after one quarter, thanks in part to Danielle MacDonald's ability to attack the basket, UPEI continued to roll in the second frame.

Fourth-year guards Amy Gough and Danielle MacDonald converted on back-to-back and ones, extending the lead to double digits early in the quarter.

The Capers tough-nosed defence allowed them to chip away and cut the lead to seven, going into halftime with UPEI ahead 34-27.

UPEI shot 48 per cent, scoring 65 per cent of their points inside the key while Cape Breton struggled from the field shooting 27 per cent.

Top performers for UPEI were Amy Gough with 10 points and seven boards and Danielle MacDonald who lead the team with 12 points.

Keisha Lespoir and Alison Keough led the Capers with seven and four points respectively.

UPEI continued to feed off the energy of their hometown fans, controlling the majority of the quarter, stretching the margin to 16 points with under three minutes to go in the quarter.

The Capers refused to back down, continuing to use their physical style of play to chip away at the Pathers lead, reducing the deficit to 10 going into the final quarter.

The Capers were unable to stop UPEI from getting to the rim and saw themselves trailing by 15 early in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers were able to keep AUS rookie of the year, Alison Keough, contained on the offensive end despite her pulling down 15 rebounds in the game.

The Capers got themselves within nine points but couldn't get any closer as UPEI pulled off the upset winning 67-56.

Colleen Keane was named player of the game for Cape Breton scoring 14 points and collecting seven rebounds in the loss.

Subway Player of the Game for the Panthers was Amy Gough. Gough finished with a double-double, scoring a game-high 26 points while shooting 15-17 from the charity stripe and hauling down 10 rebounds.

UPEI will now face the StFX X-Women in Saturday's second semifinal matchup Saturday night at 8 p.m.

Source: UPEI Sports Information