VICTORIA – The Lethbridge Pronghorns held off a late Alberta rally to defeat the Pandas 29-26 in the Canada West women's rugby bronze medal game Sunday at Wallace Field.
Lethbridge built a 22-5 halftime lead and extended its advantage to 17 points early in the second half before Alberta scored three unanswered tries to make it a one-score game in the closing stages.
The Pronghorns opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Millie Teskey crossed the line for a try. Alberta answered four minutes later through Emilee Randolph to tie the game 5-5, but Lethbridge controlled much of the remainder of the first half.
Seq'hiya Simmons restored the Pronghorns' lead in the 13th minute before Elizabeth LePage scored twice late in the half. Her first try came in the 34th minute and was converted by Jayda Morrison, while her second just before halftime gave Lethbridge a 22-5 advantage heading into the break.
Alberta began its comeback immediately after halftime. Mayeling Henry Rodriguez scored less than two minutes into the second half, taking the ball about 20 metres from the try line and powering through multiple would-be tacklers on her way to the score. Randolph converted to trim the deficit to 22-12.
The Pronghorns responded three minutes later when Charli Helland crossed the line, and Morrison added the conversion to restore a 17-point lead at 29-12.
Alberta refused to go away. Rodriguez produced another powerful run in the 55th minute, once again breaking through defenders to score her second try of the afternoon. Randolph added another major eight minutes later, and Eve Stachuk converted, cutting the Lethbridge lead to just three points at 29-26.
With momentum firmly on Alberta's side, the Pandas pressed for an equalizer in the closing minutes. The Pronghorns, however, held their defensive structure under pressure and protected the narrow lead through the final minutes to secure the conference bronze medal.
"It was a game of two halves," said Lethbridge head coach Graeme Moffat. "The conditions were tricky, but coming from Lethbridge, we're used to playing in the wind. I thought we controlled territory well in the first half and built a 22-5 lead at halftime.
"It was a good start, although we probably didn't convert as many opportunities as we should have. Alberta really threw everything at us in the second half. We struggled at times to find field position and territory, and in the final 10 minutes we just had to hang on."
LePage finished with two tries for the Pronghorns, while Morrison added four points with a pair of conversions. Alberta was led by Rodriguez and Randolph, who each scored two tries in the losing effort.
The victory gives Lethbridge the Canada West bronze medal, while Alberta finishes fourth after reaching the conference semifinal round.
SCORING SUMMARY
|
|
1
|
2
|
F
|
|
LET
|
22
|
7
|
29
|
|
ALB
|
5
|
21
|
26
|
4' LET Try - #11 Millie Teskey, conversion missed, 5-0 LET
8' ALB Try - #13 Emilee Randolph, conversion missed, 5-5 TIE
13' LET Try - #5 Seq'hiya Simmons, conversion missed, 10-5 LET
34' LET Try - #2 Elizabeth LePage, conversion #10 Jayda Morrison, 17-5 LET
40' LET Try - #2 Elizabeth LePage, conversion missed, 22-5 LET
HALF
42' ALB Try - #16 Mayeling Henry Rodriguez, conversion #13 Emiliee Randolph, 22-12 LET
45' LET Try - #8 Charli Helland, conversion #10 Jayda Morrison, 29-12 LET
55' ALB Try - #16 Mayeling Henry Rodriguez, conversion #13 Emiliee Randolph, 29-19 LET
63' ALB Try - #13 Emiliee Randolph, conversion #23 Eve Stachuk, 29-26 LET
