Tommies Ride Big First Half to Birth in Finals

The St. Thomas University Tommies jumped out to a 31-8 first half lead and never looked back against the Mount Allison University Mounties in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association's women's rugby semi-final, Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank Park South.

The Tommies jumped out to the first half lead thanks to tries from Samantha Longstaff (Saint John, NB), Kristen Bulman (Moncton, NB), Kassie Trainor (Hampton, NB), Olivia Ricketts (Saint John, NB) and Becca Baker (Keswick Ridge, NB), to go along with three converts from Emily Donelle (Moncton, NB).

"I think the team played a solid game," said head coach Mary-Kim Schriver. "There a few infractions and penalties that every team suffers from, but they cleaned it up since our last game."

Despite the first half lead, the Tommies were outscored 12-0 in the second half, until Kyra Gate (Truro, NS) broke through to seal the deal for the Tommies, giving them a 38-20 victory, punching their ticket to the ACAA finals against their rival, the UNB Reds.

Schriver knows the Tommies will have to regain their focus for an entire 80 minutes if they want to dethrone the Reds next week.

"These ladies will need to keep their defense tight and energy levels high," said Schriver about the looming matchup. "They know their opposition, so keeping a clear and focused game for each half is vital to the next matchup."

The Reds will host the Tommies in the ACAA final, which has been the finals matchup for an astounding five straight years. The game has yet to be scheduled.