Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

What a game. The Freeze come back from down 12 in the third quarter to take and hold onto the lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and get the win in the first game of the 2023 MWBA season.

Kylee Speedy and Kylee Kilpatrick shined throughout the game leading their respective teams on both sides of the floor. The facilitation of Speedy was everywhere in the first half and as her team needed her late, she showed more and more of her offensive prowess hitting threes and getting the ball inside.

Kilpatrick was seemingly unstoppable in and around the rim. Her ability to get to spots on the floor where she could be open for the ball handler gave her many opportunities and her work in transition matched the Fog’s style that shined in the second half.

Throughout the first half Fredericton tried to get the ball to the rim but settled for mid range opportunities which they knocked down on the baseline and extended free throw line. Despite Port City’s defensive efforts, the execution of the Freeze was too much to handle and they held onto a lead throughout the half.

On the side of the Fog, Bailey Henderson and Grace Tilley made their impact offensively with Tilley hitting from range, and Jessica Keripe made her impact more and more as the game went on making the hustle plays that were needed to spark a team trying to get in front of a rolling Freeze squad.

It was 38-26 Fredericton at half and as teams came out for the second half, the defense of the Fog kicked up and their transition opportunities were turning into better looks. Combatting the efforts of Katie Butts and Speedy, the Fog used their quick hands and cut the deficit in half to 6 points with a quarter left to play.

In what was an incredibly eventful fourth quarter, Kylee Speedy kicked up scoring six in the final minute and the teams traded buckets with the Freeze holding onto a lead until the final two minutes where the Fog found Kylee Kilpatrick who scored 6 straight points and tied the game at 58.

A flurry of opportunities by Erin Ingalls, Speedy, Kilpatrick and Tilley fueled a high scoring end to the game but it was a five second violation forced by Port City and two free throws from Kilpatrick that iced the Fog’s win.

Port City took down Fredericton 73-68 to get the win in the first game of the regular season.