Tommies Use Strong First Half to Coast to Win Over Chargers

Fredericton, NB – Madison Owens (Fredericton, NB) scored 22 points while Laura Nancekievill (Hartland, NB) and Vanessa Soffee (Fredericton, NB) recorded double-doubles as the St. Thomas Tommies handed the Crandall Chargers a heavy 100-55 defeat on Saturday evening.

"I liked our ball movement, I liked our connectivity in the defense for the most part I thought it was a really good effort," coach, Fred Connors, said after the game.

This game was an extremely lopsided affair as the Tommies' defense was strong and efficient. They gave Crandall very few opportunities and restricted them to minimal second-chances.

Owens started the game positively and got into the scoring groove. She ended the game with 22 points and made three, 3-point shots. She also registered 7 rebounds and a game-high 4 steals.

The player who had the largest impact was Nancekievill. She was not part of the starting-five but as soon as she came on you could see that she was causing Crandall a lot of problems. She stood above the opposition both figuratively and metaphorically. She had 13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks.

"She came out and played unbelievable so I mean if that's just going to add to our depth. When everybody is hurt it's awful nice timing to have her coming back," Connors replied when asked about his center's performance.

She and Soffee both had 5 offensive rebounds and this was the main reason why Crandall found scoring difficult. Soffee put up impressive numbers of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

It must also be mentioned that Celine Sterckel (Moncton, NB), who scored 28 in the last game, also came up with 16 points to pile on the worries for Crandall.

Connors managed the game well since he only had nine players to choose from with many of his roster unavailable due to injury.

"We've been hurt all year we seem to get one player back and then someone else gets hurt," Connors said about the squad situation. "They play really hard for each other and when you have that kind of team chemistry you draw off each other but the energy is there," he added.

The Tommies will be in action again on Sunday afternoon where they will take on UNB Saint John at Lady Beaverbrook Gymnasium. Crandall's next game will be at UNBSJ on November 20^th.

Recap: Brandon Salick