Saint Mary’s off to AUS final after a 67-60 win over UPEI

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The Saint Mary's Huskies will play for the chance to raise another banner after the 2nd seeded team defeated the UPEI Panthers (3rd seed) 67-60 in a closely contested semifinal.

Subway player of the game and first team all-star Alaina McMillan (Brantford, Ont.) was the star in SMU's win with 18 points, including four three-pointers. On the other side of the ball, she finished with five rebounds. 

The Panthers started off the scoring with three free throws before an Alicia Bowering (Orangeville, Ont.) jump shot made it 5-0. Similarly, SMU started its scoring from behind the foul line after a close opening few minutes. 

Samantha Zoffranieri (Brampton, Ont.), UPEI's best player in Friday's quarterfinal win, helped the Panthers extend the early lead with a three-pointer. 

The Huskies took its first lead of the half after a sequence where defensive player of the year Clara Gascoigne (Dartmouth, N.S.) had two rebounds, scored a basket and made a free throw after drawing a foul on the shot. SMU put up nine unanswered points to make the score 19-11.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair that started with UPEI's second team all-star Karla Yepez (Quito, Ecuador) making a layup but Gascoigne immediately answering for SMU. It was a trend that continued throughout the quarter, with SMU narrowly outsourcing UPEI 15-13. The Huskies made their free throws count, shooting 88.9% (16 of 18) in the first half. 

After half, the score was 40-28 for Saint Mary's with the Huskies taking command defensively with 10 steals and three blocks. Gascoigne led the way with 11 first half points for SMU while it was Zoffranieri with eight points for then Panthers. 

The Panthers came out hot to start the second half, with nine unanswered points and strong defensive play keeping the Huskies off the board until the 6:17 mark of the quarter. Aiden Rainford (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Rainford (Toronto, Ont.) led the surge, with both sisters sinking baskets. 

Back-to-back SMU three-pointers from Lucina Beaumont (Fredericton, N.B.) and Alaina McMillan fired up the hometown crowd as the Huskies started to gain control of the play again. The Huskies took a 57-42 point lead into the final quarter.

The play of SMU's Aki Kobayashi (Halifax, N.S.) early in the fourth quarter earned praises from her coaches, with both a layup and a steal setting the tone on both sides of the ball. 

With 6:16 left in the game, SMU's Clara Gascoigne was sent out to matchup against Lauren Rainford as the Panthers made a late push. A Yepez layup brought UPEI within eight points with less than two minutes to go, but Lauren Rainford was limited to two successful free throws. Lauren led the Panthers in the game with 13 points and five rebounds while Aiden had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Saint Mary's takes on the Acadia Axewomen in the final on Sunday, February 26 at 1 p.m. Acadia secured a return to the final after a 77-69 semifinal win against UNB on Saturday. Watch every game of the 2023 Subway AUS Basketball Championships on AUStv.ca.

Source: Jonathan Briggins for Atlantic University Sport