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Sea of SupportersTurn Out for Basketball Home Openers - Women's Volleyball Face Tough X Team at Home
Only three teams were in action this weekend, with Memorial Men's and Women's Basketball teams earning a split against the Saint Mary's Huskies, while Women's Volleyball faced a tough test and went 0-2 at St. FX.
Next weekend, two Sea-Hawks will compete in CIS competition, as AUS 2nd place finisher Caroline McIlroy and Jordan Fewer, AUS 7th place finisher will compete in Quebec city against the best cross country runners in the country. Men's and Women's Basketball go on the road to take on the UNB Varsity Reds, while women's volleyball will play their home opener in what will their Go Pink Series event and need home town support to help them climb past the CBU Capers, who currently sit in 2nd place in the AUS.
Women's Basketball
It was like a tale of two teams this weekend, with the Sea-Hawks women's basketball winning their home opener on Saturday 84-74, but dropping Sunday's rematch 76-60. Fans got a great chance to see the 2011 roster in action as every new Sea-Hawk player had a chance to get some court time.
On Saturday evening, the 2011 Sea-Hawks season opened to a sold-out crowd who showed great support wearing red and cheering loudly as the Sea-Hawks got off to a solid start. Rookie point guard Megan Robinson showed little nerves in her first few minutes as starter, as she dropped an open 3 pointer in the first two minutes of play. In a fast paced start to the game, the Sea-Hawks had a solid first quarter and led 19-12 after the first break. Justine Colley for SMU, remains the key offensive threat for SMU and was aggressive getting to the basket in the 1st quarter. Colley just returned from Mexico where she represented Canada at the Pan Am Games (team finished 6th) and has not lost a step in being SMU'S go to player. The Sea-Hawks were strong on the offensive and defensive boards, with newcomer Tiffany McMillion and 3rd year Ally Forsey combining for 17 of 29 rebounds in Saturday's game. Shooting 55% from the floor, 100%(4-4) from the foul line and 50% from the 3pt line gave the Sea-Hawks the scoring edge heading into half, as Memorial led SMU 41-26. Both teams had high number in the turnover column, with travelling violations by both teams making up the majority of the number.
In the second half, the Sea-Hawks combined good defensive positioning, with a well balanced offensive attack to give them what seemed like a comfortable 19 pt lead. However, SMU continued to hang around, playing even with the Sea-Hawks during the 3rd quarter to cut the Sea-Hawks lead to 15. Saint Mary's moved to full court pressure, which rattled the Sea-Hawks a bit forcing a couple of additional turnovers that turned 
into scoring opportunities for the Huskies. Down the stretch, sharp shooting from Kim Devison, Robyn O'Reilly and Emily Jameson kept the Sea-Hawks in front with Memorial claiming the win 84-74. Offensively fans were treated to a balanced attack, Emily Jameson scored a team high 14pts, O'Reilly & Grace Fishbein added 13 apiece and Devison and Megan Robinson contributed 13 each. Ally Forsey had a great all-round game scoring 8 points, adding 10 rebounds and contributing 4 blocks in 25 minutes of play.
On Sunday, the team played a solid first half shooting 51% from the floor, but seemed to lack the defensive intensity they had brought the night before. After the 1st quarter, the Sea-Hawks edged the Huskies 22-21. The team continued to shoot well, but a few lapses on defence gave the Huskies opportunities to score inside the paint. At half the Sea-Hawks led 42-37. The 3rd quarter saw the Sea-Hawks go cold from the floor and the Huskies rallied with every opportunity presented, outscoring the Sea-Hawks 30-9 and taking a 67-51 lead. The Sea-Hawks continued to struggle offensively and shot just 19% from the floor and 13% from the 3 point line in the second half. Saint Mary's continued to find open shots and although the scoring in the 4th quarter was even, the final buzzer sounded with the Sea-Hawks down 16. Saint Mary's split the series with a 76-60 victory and had a well balanced offensive output with four players scoring in double digits. Robyn O'Reilly scored 18 for the Sea-Hawks and Ally Forsey had 14pts and 10 rebounds for Memorial.
Boxscores
WBBall
http://www.goseahawks.ca/boxscore.php?id=533
http://www.goseahawks.ca/boxscore.php?id=474
Men's Basketball
The Men's Basketball team opened at home with a veteran starting line-up and a few fresh faces. Saint Mary's were quick out of the gate and played an up tempo style of play. The Sea-Hawks matched the pace and both teams shot well in the first quarter, however some gaps on defence gave the Huskies a 30-19 edge at the end of the first quarter. The pace in the 2nd quarter never slowed and the Huskies hot hand continued giving them 63 points on the board at half-time. In the first half, SMU shot 61% from the floor and 54% from 3pt land, while the Sea-Hawks shot less than 35% from the floor. With a half-time lead of 63-39, it seemed like Saint Mary's might have an easy ride to victory. A determined Sea-Hawks squad committed themselves to better defence in the 2nd half and were more disciplined on offense which led to better shot selection. The Sea-Hawks held SMU to just 29 points in the 2nd half and were able to put 46 on the board themselves. Unfortunately, time ran out on the Sea-Hawks and they were left with a 92-85 loss to the Huskies. Each of the Sea-Hawks starters scored in double digits, while newcomers Ryan Wood and D'Avontai Moore added 11points combined. The late rally from the Sea-Hawks showed fans that the team is capable of playing better should they make a commitment to defence from the start, which gave hope heading into Sunday.
In their rematch against SMU on Sunday, the Sea-Hawks gave a full effort from the start. Controlling the pace of the Huskies much better, the Sea-Hawks were able to end the first quarter leading 23-21. SMU continued to try and dictate an up tempo pace, but the Sea-Hawks played much better defensively, forcing the Huskies into a set offence. The Huskies looked less comfortable in this type of game and were forced to take many difficult shots near the end of the shot clock expiring. The Sea-Hawks created some good opportunities on offense and made the most of them, earning a 44-38 lead over Saint Mary's at half-time. After the break, the Huskies continued to try and speed up the pace and create fast-break opportunities, but the Sea-Hawks did a good job in containing the breakouts and forcing the Huskies to run an offence. The Huskies shot better in the 2nd half, but could only manage to get within five after 3 quarters. The Sea-Hawks played aggressive in the 4th quarter and offensively took the ball hard to the basket drawing fouls and creating chances at the free throw line, where the team converted on 15-16 chances and overall 21-22 for the game. Saint Mary's kept coming at the Sea-Hawks, but ran out of time and were forced to foul to stop the clock during the last two minutes of play. Final score Sea-Hawks 90 Huskies 79. Jason Shepherd led the way on offensive with 25 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds, while Mark Woodland added 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting.
Boxscores
http://www.goseahawks.ca/boxscore.php?id=535
http://www.goseahawks.ca/boxscore.php?id=534
For more Sea~Hawks photos from this fall visit Zach Wheeler's Photo Page.
Women's Volleyball
The Women's volleyball team continued their month long raod trip with two matches at St. FX this weekend. The Sea-Hawks are still limited by injury, as 4th year left side Erin Bursey, starter and veteran player can only see limited action with an ongoing ankle injury. Head Coach Bill Thistle has predicted that St FX should be one of the better teams in the league this year, so the team knew it would be in tough from the start. On Saturday night, the Sea-Hawks struggled to find consistency and made some errors that proved costly, as the Sea-Hawks dropped the opening match 0-3 (19-25, 23-25, 19-25). Sam March led the way offensively with 12 kills.
The team regrouped and faced the X-women in the 2nd of their two game series. The Sea-Hawks lost the match 3-1, with set scores 19-25, 18-25, 25-20, 17-25. Sam March, Angela Peddle and Chantal Jones were all offensive contributors for the Sea-Hawks, while Julia Watts played well defensively for the Sea-Hawks with 16 digs.
St FX currently leads the AUS conference with a 4-1 record, while the Sea-Hawks are 1-4 and will face the 2nd place Cape Breton Capers at home next weekend. Match times are 7pm Saturday and 11am on Sunday.
Boxscores