Tigers drop final tournament game to Laurier 88-77

(HALIFAX N.S.) - The Dalhousie Tigers closed out the final game of the 2016 Lawtons Centennial Women's Basketball Tournament with a tough loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Tigers finished the tournament with three straight losses and the Golden Hawks finished with a record of 2-1.

Tigers guard Diedre Alexander started off the game with a left side drive on the Golden Hawks defender to put the Tigers on the board.

Golden Hawks all-star of the weekend Kaitlyn Schenck was quick to respond with a nice drive around two Dalhousie defenders to place a layup above both of their heads. A few seconds later, she would capitalize again with a quick break on a Tigers turnover to take an early lead for Laurier with a score of 12-4.

The Tigers decided to call a time out with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter which seemed to be quite helpful as Shalyn Field came out responding with a great scoring drive.

It seemed to be all Tigers after their timeout. They buried on multiple turnovers which ultimately forced the Golden Hawks to call a timeout of their own with just over three minutes left in the quarter.

The Golden Hawks respond as numbers 23, 20 and 12 all hit consecutive three pointers to close out the first quarter with a score of 27-21 for the Golden Hawks.

The Tigers came out and dominated the court for the start of the second quarter. The most notable player this quarter was player of the game Sophie Gaube. Gaube nailed down a solid jump shot, assisted a brilliant 2 pointer by Claire Hickman and finally nailed down a perfect three point shot. This three-pointer cut the Laurier lead to 2 making the score 32-30.

The Tigers wouldn't stop there – at the five-minute mark centre Ashley Cain sunk a terrific jump shot to give the Tigers their first lead of the tournament thus far.

The Golden Hawks would apply some pressure to close out the half with some excellent back and forth action on the court. The buzzer would ring and the Tigers were up 46-43 at the half.

The Golden Hawks came out in the third quarter and had some trouble finding the basket as many their attempts were bouncing off the rim. The Tigers would continue to hold the lead for most of the third and close out the quarter with a score of 61-59.

As the fourth quarter began, the Tigers continued to display some impressive passing skills. These plays resulted in numerous opportunities throughout the fourth quarter for the squad but also led them into some foul trouble.  

The Golden Hawks would not give up as they applied some much needed pressure on the Tigers throughout the quarter regaining the lead multiple times from their opponent.

Golden Hawks forward Kaitlyn Schenck completed her signature right side hoop drive to spark a Tigers time out with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

Diedre Alexander of the Tigers responded with a slick three-point bucket but it would not be enough to bring the Tigers in range of winning the game. The Golden Hawks would pull away and eventually close out the game with a final score of 88-77.

The all-stars of the weekend were Michele Tchiakoua on the Tigers and Kaitlyn Scenck on Laurier.

Game point leaders: Tigers Sophie Gaube (14 points) and Golden Hawks Kaitlyn Schenck (28 points)

The Tigers will be back in pre-season action when they head to the McGill Tournament on Saturday October 22.