After losing the first games Saturday night in the pair of two-game series, both Memorial Sea-Hawks men’s and women’s basketball teams came away with critical victories Sunday afternoon to settle for a split with the University of Prince Edward Island over the weekend.
On the volleyball court, the Sea-Hawks’ women’s team didn’t fare quite as well, suffering a three-game sweep to the powerful Dalhousie Tigers.
In Charlottetown, P.E.I., fifth-year guard Daniel Gordon of North York, Ont. continued his torrid scoring pace, draining 31 points as the Sea-Hawks thumped the Panthers 92-79, following a 71-61 loss Saturday.
Earlier Sunday, 6-2 forward Brooklyn Wright, a fourth-year out of Cambridge, Ont., enjoyed her own 30-point game, to go with 12 rebounds, as the Lady Birds downed the Panthers 87-79. Saturday night, MUN dropped a 61-59 decision.
Sunday’s men’s win restores the Sea-Hawks’ lead on the Panthers to 10 points for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Atlantic University Sport conference.
Guard Davion Parnsalu from Ajax, Ont., another fifth-year player, backed up Gordon with 21 points and eight rebounds. Greg Manuel had 16 points and Nathan Barker, back in the Sea-Hawks’ lineup after missing last weekend’s homestand against Acadia, knocked down 13 points and grabbed 10 boards.
MUN led 49-37 at halftime.
For the Lady Birds, Rosie Stanoev supported Wright with 19 points. Haille Nickerson scored 14 and Jane Baird chipped in with 11.
The Panthers led 41-39 at the half, but MUN outscored their guests 28-16 in the third quarter.
The Sea-Hawks are 8-8, and fifth in the AUS standings.
It was Parnsalu who was tops for the visitors in Saturday night’s loss as the 5-10 guard scored 19 points. Manuel netted 15 and Gordon had 11.
The Sea-Hawks fell behind the eight-ball early, getting outscored 16-6 in the first quarter.
Wright was tops for her squad on Saturday as well, with 20 points. Baird netted 10.
Noteworthy was Lindsay Taylor’s pair of three-pointers, which were the 143rd and 144th of her Memorial career, passing former Sea-Hawks great Amy O’Reilly.
Taylor, a fifth-year guard from Waterloo, Ont., trails only Michelle Healey on the all-time list. Healey made 160 treys during her illustrious career.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Despite the sweep at the hands of Dal (3-0 loss Friday, 3-1 Saturday and 3-1 Sunday), the Sea-Hawks are 8-9 but have secured the fourth and final playoff spot in the AUS.
Memorial closes out the regular season next weekend with three game in Wolfville, N.S. against the Acadia Axewomen.
