Hurricanes Bounce Back with 58-48 Win Over Tommies

Fredericton, NB – The St. Thomas University Tommies needed a win to secure top spot in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association standings, but the visiting Holland College Hurricanes ended that dream with a 58-48 victory at The Pit.

The Hurricanes would open up the game on a 17-4 run, to which the Tommies could never fully recover from. The Tommies could do little to stop the three-headed forward attack of Karla Benitez, Kassandra Little and Grace Bennett, who combined for 32 points, 22 rebounds and 4 blocks. Add that trio to Lisa Bolander who had a double double of 12 points and 14 assists, and the Tommies were in tough.

"I thought we came out a little emotional due to it being seniors night and Holland came out with a ton of great energy," said Tommies' head coach, Fred Connors. "We got a little bit rattled and we couldn't really recover. We couldn't get shots to go down and we got stagnant."

Connors was right about his team not being able to get shots to go down, as they went a season low 19 of 71 from the field (26.8%), including 0 for 17 from beyond the arc. Holland College, on the other hand, shot 43.6% from the field and 36.4% from the three point line.

Samantha Stordy was a bright spot for the Tommies as she led the team in points (16), rebounds (7) and blocks (2).

"We thought Sam was going to have a whopper of a year for us this year, and then she ended up breaking her wrist and we weren't sure we were going to get her back this year," said Connors. "She came back for us in January, and then we shut down for two weeks. Her whole season has been compiled into four weeks for us here. When you factor all of that into it, its even more impressive what she's done for us these past few games because she carried us our last game in Saint John as well."

The Hurricanes came into the matchup averaging 74 points per game, so to hold them to 58 was a victory Tommies' head coach, Fred Connors could walk away pleased with.

"If that team scores 58 points against you, you've done a decent job," he said about his team's defence. "As much as you can sit back and talk about the defence, we scored 48 points today. We are going to have a hard time winning basketball games like that."

With the loss the Tommies finish regular season play in second place, while the Hurricanes finish in third.