With the playoff picture set in stone, the Memorial Sea-Hawks are off to Acadia to take on the Axewomen. The games will serve as a final tune-up for two teams that have played tremendously in the second half on their way to locking down playoff berths.
The Sea-Hawks have been great since the second half of the season started. They are 8-1 since January 1st, and have not lost back to back games since November 26th. Much of the strong play can be credited to a commitment to stronger play on offense, while not sacrificing their defensive effort. In November, where they were 3-5, the team averaged 61.5 points per game on offense. Since then, they are averaging 70.8 points, while the defense has stayed relatively stable. In fact, if you exclude the first half and isolate their second half performance, the Sea-Hawks have been one of the best offences in the AUS.
The team that would rank ahead of them is Acadia. Despite the Axewomen's 9-9 record, they've been a force on the offensive end. They are the top team (by points per game) by almost 5 full points. On the season, they are outscoring teams by 4.6 points per game on average, and are plus 83 in aggregate point differential. All this is to say that Acadia is much better than their record indicates and will be looking to prove that this weekend when they defend their home court against the Sea-Hawks.
Expect this weekend to be more than two teams looking to tune things up before the playoffs. There should be some tangible intensity when these teams take the floor in Acadia on Friday at 6:30pm on Saturday and 1:30pm on Saturday. Catch the games live on AUStv.ca