Tigers drop opening weekend series to Capers

Game recap by: Kirk Jessome

(Halifax, NS) – In the second game of a back to back, the Dalhousie Tigers once again took on the Cape Breton University Capers. Hannah Brown was massive for the Capers, with 20 points in the first half leading to the 73-56 victory over the Tigers.

Both teams started the game with a pressure defense, with the Capers taking advantage of quick transition opportunities early, sending Mackenzee Ryan (Glace Bay, NS) running long for layups.

Once the Tigers established their half-court set, they were able to get the ball inside to Lia Kentzler (Gottingen, GER) and Robertha Charles (Montreal, QC) to do work down low.

Ariel Provo (Lake Echo, NS) closed out a tight first quarter by knocking down a pair from the line, but the Capers defensive intensity had them leading 18-16 heading into the second.

The full court pressure started to get to the Tigers in the second quarter, causing turnovers followed by some nice ball movement in the offensive end to hit Hannah Brown (North Sydney, NS) down low for a few easy layups.

The Tigers needed to get set up in the half court in order to be successful, and when they did, Michele Tchiakoua (Yaounde, Cameroon) was able to continue finding Tigers forwards down low, this time Claire Hickman (St. John's, NL).

The great court vision by the guards of the Capers continued late in the half as they consistently found ways to get Brown the ball down low, and she was able to finish plays off to help give her a massive 20 points in the first half alone.

As the whistle blew to end the first half, the Capers had a 35-27 lead over the Tigers.

The Tigers had an aggressive start to the second half, both on the inside and on the perimeter. Kentzler was able to get down low and get to the line, as well as Tchikoua slashing to get the hoop and harm before finding Sophie Gaube (Hubley, NS) for a shot from deep on the next possession.

The Tigers run put them within one, just over four minutes into the third quarter.

The Capers countered with a run of their own to end the third quarter with Maia Watling (Palmerston North, NZ) making some great moves down low to slip the defender and get to the rim for wide open layups.

The 9-1 run in the final four minutes of the quarter pushed the Caper lead back up to 11, going into the fourth leading 55-44.

The Capers ball movement continued to shine in the fourth quarter, including from their forward Hannah Brown, who did a nice job to find Mackenzee Ryan on the perimeter for a shot from deep in the early minutes.

The Tigers continued to move the ball inside, but the lead was too much for them to come back from as it extended late in the game. 

As the final buzzer went, the Capers walked away with a 73-56 win.

Lia Kentzler led the way for the Tigers, picking up 14 points in the loss, while Hannah Brown had another fantastic performance with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Madison Munro (Truro, NS) was named the Subway Player of the Game for the Capers, quietly picking up 7 points and 13 rebounds.

The Tigers will be back on the court next Friday when they travel to take on UNB in back to back games. The Capers will have their home opener next Saturday against StFX.