Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,
 
Life did not get any easier on the Queen’s basketball front.  We faced the #1 ranked team in the nation (Windsor) on Friday and the #5 ranked team (Western) on Saturday.   Both resulted in losses:  19 to Windsor (77-58) and 1 to Western (65-64). (Q’s sports info reports below)
 
We started fairly well against Windsor – only trailing by 2 at the end of the first quarter.  The second quarter, however, we were steamrolled and went into the half down 16.  That climbed over 20 in the third, before battling back in the fourth.  Brittany Moore finished with 16 points, while Liz Boag added 14.  Hanna Koposhynska hit double digits with 11 rebounds to go along with her 6 points.
 
Western was a different story.  We trailed by 2 after the first, but had a strong second quarter to lead by 5 at the half.  That lead was cut to 3 by the end of the third.  Western had a small run that returned them the lead, eventually by as much as 5.  We battled hard, fouled at the end, but could only get back within 1. Moore, again led the team in scoring with 21 points, and again, Boag was on her heels with 16.  Paige Robinson added 10 points, while Jill Wheat grabbed 14 rebounds to go with her 5 points.
 
The Windsor game was our “Shoot for the Cure” game designed to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer Research.  While I do not have the final figures of the money we raised, I am very pleased to announce the number of people & companies that accepted my challenge of donating $1 for every point scored in the game (which ended up being 135).  Many thanks to:
 
Kathy Jackson – School of Kinesiology & Health Studies
Sherwood Smith – benefactor of the Catherine Gertrude Milliken-Smith Award
Lenore & Ron Porter (offered to match $1 for each Windsor point and $2 for each Q’s point – thank you)
Peggy Reid & Sandy Boag (Peggy won the 50/50 draw and donated her winnings as well – thanks very much)
Mila Koposhynska’s employer: Zayouna Law Firm (Toronto)
Alison Robinson (her donation will be matched by her employer Pfizer Animal Health)
Katie Guthrie & Marcel Beaudin (Katie played last year, of course)
 
Thanks very much to all – I will have the final figures in my next newsletter.
 
Reminder: Sunday, December 5 – ID/Training Camp
On-court 9-11am & 1-3pm.  Contact me if you are interested in participating.
 
Up Next on the Road:
Thursday, December 2 @ RMC 6pm
 
Have a great week!
 
Dave.
 
No. 1 Windsor tops Queen's 77-58
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 26, 2010) – Jessica Clemencon of St. Rambert, France tallied a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds pacing the No. 1 Windsor Lancers to a 77-58 win over the Queen's Gaels.
 
The Lancers improve to 6-1 on the season and have outscored their opponents by double digits in each of their six wins.
 
Queen's Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., had 16 points in the loss, which was above her season average of 13.8 ppg. Hanna Koposhynska of Toronto had a team-high 11 rebounds while Kingston's Liz Boag had 14 points off the bench, going 3 for 6 from three point range.
 
The Lancers had four players score in double figures, and were benefitted by 45% field goal shooting. Bojana Kovacevic of Windsor was the Lancers second leading scorer with 14 points.
 
Windsor held Queen's to 10 points in the second quarter and 11 points in the third quarter, building a sizable lead going into the final frame.
 
No. 4 Western sneaks past Queen's 65-64
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 27, 2010) – The Queen's Gaels couldn't put the finishing touches on a monster upset as the No. 4 Western Mustang snuck away with a narrow 65-64 win in OUA women's basketball on Saturday.
 
Queen's have now lost six straight and their record sits at 1-7 holding a fifth place tie in the OUA East with Ryerson and RMC. Western is tied with Windsor for top position in the OUA West with 14 points and a 7-1 record.
 
In the dying seconds of the game, the Gaels were down by three points and nearly pulled even with Western at the buzzer. Under immense pressure, Queen's guard Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., three point attempt was blocked. Sydney Kernahan of Calgary got the rebound and made her two point shoot from the key, but failed to draw the foul which ended the game.
 
Western took the early advantage 20-18 in the first quarter, but Queen's taking the lead in early in the second quarter. They controlled the game until they lost the lead with 4:27 remaining in the fourth quarter at 56-54.
 
Moore was the game's top scorer with 21 points and was the only player in the game to break the 20 point barrier. She was 8 for 17 from the floor in 31 minutes of play. Kingston's Liz Boag had 16 points while Jill Wheat was game's top rebounder with 14. Kernahan tallied 10 rebounds in the loss.
 
Western's Jenny Vaughan of Dundas, Ont., led the Mustangs with 19 points and was 4 of 6 at the free throw line.
 
Jacklyn Selfe of Burlington, Ont., posted 17 points in the win including the final six points for the Mustangs.
 
Queen's dominated three point play with the Gaels sinking 8 of 18 for 44.4% while Western shot just 17.6% at 3 for 17.
 
The Gaels will close the 2010 calendar year with a rare Thursday evening game against cross town rival Royal Military College on Dec. 2. Tipoff is 6:00pm at RMC.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Basketball-M - Coach's Report - November 24th, 2010

This weekend marks the final two games of the OUA East and West Interlock schedule and we will finish with the tough task of facing two very talented and deep squads in Windsor and Western this Friday and Saturday night respectively. Windsor currently sits tied atop the west divsion with a record of 5-1 while Western has suffered from some inconsistency and has a record of 3-3.

At this point our focus has very much shifted internally as the players continue to battle hard to have the opportunity to win games. With a record of 1-5 through our first six games we have shown the ability to compete by being in 4 very competitive games and have also shown the ability to falter in losing two lopsided contests to very good teams in WLU and Lakehead. For the most part we have continued to improve defensively and have been able to hang around in games due to our defensive efforts. This is not to say that we are happy with our defense as we have unfortunately shown a consistency for having a poor defensive quarter in each game and in most cases that has coincided with us losing an opportunity to win.

Ultimately, our biggest hurdle remains the ability to score consistently and from a variety of sources. 4th guard Dan Bannister has been tremendous in this area averaging 20.33 PPG to this point in the season placing him in 4th place amongst OUA scoring. Other veteran guards Tim Boyle and Chris Barrett have been steady for the most part at 10 and 8 PPG respectively, however, the depth of our scoring after that becomes inconsistent. At this point in order to get better in the immediate future we must be extremely efficient at converting easy basket opportunities. For example, this past Saturday night at Lakehead we found ourselves down by 17 at the half against a very good team. However, in that first half we missed what I would consider 5 uncontested layups and went 1-6 from the free throw line. Those 15 points can mean all the difference in making an early blow out into a tight contest. The bottom line is that collectively we as a team must grasp the easy opportunities we create while also working to get more efficient at creating those opportunities. The later of these two falls primarily to the myself and the coaching staff as we continue to explore other ways in which we can generate more consistent offense.

As a team we have struggled in certain areas, however, there is no doubt that the players are competing night in and night out and are determined to improve as are we as coaches. This weekend we will approach each game separately and prepare in a way that will give us the best opportunity to win. Our hope is that we can take at least one win away from this weekend which will allow us to stay with the pack in the OUA east.

We have had two long weeks on the road and I think that all of us are really looking forward to returning to the friendly confines of the ARC. I hope that some of you are able to get out to see the games this weekend and support the players in their efforts.

Note: Many of you have been asking how Mitch Leger has been doing with his professional experience. Mitch is playing in the Pro B League in Hamburg, Germany and after taking a bit of time to adjust to the nuances of the European game (and officiating) Mitch has settled in well. He recently put together two spectacular back to back performances which saw him win player of the week honours in his conference. We wish Mitch continued success with this challenge. If you would like to follow Mitch the following link will provide you with up to date statistics:

http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=GER&PlayerID=123029

Thanks for all of your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Duncan

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

getting into post-season training

Hi All.

Lots of my athletes are heading into post-season training. I like this time of year because I get to reconnect with those athletes who have been dedicated to practice time and not always around the weight room to chat and catch up. Football has been at it for a week and the rugby's are just starting with teaching sessions this week. The soccers will be next on the hit list. I know it sounds like old sage advice, but training camps really do arrive much, much faster than expected. This season, my programs have taken on a creative tact with the traditionals mixed in to make sure everyone gets stronger. I'm in the mood to not get overly extravagant with the exercises and equipment. In essence, the variations all circle around keeping the programs interesting and making sure that the athletes get stronger/fitter etc and avoid injury. There are so many gimics that can draw a program into a circus act and I will admit that it has happened to me on ocassion but I'm fighting it this season. The BOSU's will be minimal, but the squats, DB presses and RDL's will remain. Naturally, I can't avoid the keisers because they are completely awesome, but other toys will be kept in the background. Let's see how it goes.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,
 
This was another tough weekend, with a trip Friday to Hamilton to take on McMaster, followed by a flight the next morning to Thunder Bay to play Lakehead.  Despite both resulting in losses, (68-47 to Mac & 64-62 to Lakehead), they were completely different games.  Our performance against McMaster was dreadful, virtually in all aspects of the game.  Our inability to take care of the basketball (28 turnovers against a team that did not press us), and our inability to defend (especially in transition) really had me questioning our methods in practice to date.
 
Saturday, despite being a long (less than seamless) day of travel, and a very slow start to the game (trailing 19-8 after the first quarter), we settled down to play some decent basketball.  We outscored Lakehead in each of the next 3 quarters (20-16, 19-16, 15-13), but fell just short (literally) as a last second shot to tie, landed on the front rim.  Against Lakehead's pressure and variety of defenses, we turned the ball over 18 times -- not a great stat, but better than the previous few games.  We were 0 for 6 from the 3 point line in the first half, but went 4-6 in the second.  Rebounding improved from Friday to Saturday, but still requires much focus.
 
ID/Training Camp:  Just a reminder that we will be hosting an ID/Training Camp for players in Gr. 10-12 that may have an interest in playing for Q's down the road.  The on-court sessions will be held on Sunday, December 5th from 9-11am and 1-3pm.  In between the on-court sessions we will provide a tour of the new Athletics & Recreation Centre and answer questions about our program, academics and university life.  Please drop me a quick email if you would like to attend (no cost) so that I can prepare for the numbers.
 
Many of our readers know that we have a group of men and women come in to scrimmage against our team each week to help us prepare for the upcoming games.  They are affectionately known as our scrubs, one of whom, Iain Reid, is now an accomplished author, having recently released his new book called, "One Bird's Choice."  Here's a small review from Maclean's magazine:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/16/146096/3/   It would make a great Christmas gift!
 
This coming weekend marks the last of our home games for the fall.  Our Friday game against Windsor (ranked # 1 in Canada) is also our "Shoot for the Cure" game, where we try to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Research.  Funds raised from this game and other initiatives will be combined with other universities and presented to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation at the CIS Women's Basketball Championship with the goal of raising $100,000.  This goal was met last year with just over $104,000 raised.  Please note that funds raised in Kingston will remain in the local chapter of the Breast Cancer Foundation.  Please come out and support our team and at the same time support our "Shoot for the Cure" event.  
 
A Challenge:  I will donate $1 for every point scored in the game (both teams) and I would like others to join me in this venture.  You can accept this challenge individually, as a small group,  or as a company.  In any case, contact me with your pledge and I will have your name (or company name) included in our game announcements throughout the evening.  Of course, tax receipts will be provided.
 
Up Next at Home:

Friday, November 26 vs Windsor   6pm (Shoot for the Cure game)
Sat., November 27 vs Western       6pm
 
Up Next on the Road:

Thursday, December 2 @ RMC      6pm
 
Have a great week!
 
Dave.

 
Marauders hand Gaels third straight defeat
HAMILTON (November 19, 2010) � The Queen's Gaels women's basketball (1-4) team lost their third straight decision 68-47 to the McMaster Maruaders (2-3) Friday night in Hamilton.
 
Alyska Lukan of Barrie, Ont., led the Marauders in scoring, pouring in 15 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Jaklynn Nimec of Binbrook, Ont., and Taylor Chariot of Hamilton, also reached double-digits for McMaster, recording 11 and 10 points respectively.
 
Paige Robinson of Calgary, was the only Gael to reach double-digits in scoring on the night as she finished with 15 points. Liz Boag of Kingston, Ont., also had a solid game for Queen's, adding seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
 
Queen's struggled to make shots on the night, shooting 30% from the floor and just 69% from the free throw line.
 
 
Gaels edged out by Lakehead
THUNDER BAY, Ont. (November 20, 2010) - Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., led all scorers with 19 points but it wasn't enough as the Queen's Gaels fell to the Lakehead Thunderwolves by a 64-62 score.
 
Moore scored from every part of the court in this game as she hit three field goals from inside the arc, three field goals from outside the arc, and four free throws to round out her scoring. She was also the Gaels leading rebounder with six, two of which came in the offensive end.
 
The Gaels couldn't contain Lindsay Druery of Smithville, Ont., as she led the Thunderwolves with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Gaels had difficulty hitting shots from the floor as they made 31% of their shots. Jill Wheat of Marwayne, Alta., and Meaghan MacDougall of Martintown, Ont., were the other double digit scorers for the Gaels with 13 and 10 points respectively.
 
  The Gaels will be in action on Friday night when they return home to take on the Windsor Lancers. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm. 

Women's Basketball - Game Report (Nov. 12-13)

Hi Folks,

Sorry for the delay in this posting -- I am referring to the November 12/13 weekend below. 

A rather disappointing weekend to report this time around.  After beating Guelph by 15 in our tournament October 30, we came out flatter than any team I have seen in the last 5 years.  We lost 69-59, but the score was not indicative of how poorly we played.  In fact, having shown no signs of life 5 minutes into the fourth quarter, we trailed by 24 points.  Over the next 5 ½ minutes we went on a 22-4 run to bring the game to 6, but ran out of time and fouled at the end to lose by 10.  One would think that we must have played good basketball in the 5 ½ minute span, but that was not actually the case.  It was very disappointing.
 
On a more positive note, we were able to start the game with 10 dressed players (instead of last week’s 8) as Meaghan MacDougall and Hanna Koposhynska returned to the line up.  However, we finished the game with only 9 healthy bodies as Gemma Bullard went down with a concussion and is out for an indeterminate amount of time.
 
Saturday we moved on to St. Catharines to play Brock, resulting in an 8 point loss, 75-67.  No question our intensity was much better in this game, but we had difficulty identifying and staying with the array of excellent 3-point shooters on the Badgers.  (see SID game report below)  Brock was also able to expose a number of our fundamental weaknesses that will become the focus of our practices going forward.
 
Injuries have certainly plagued this team, along with a number of other teams in the CIS.  As we look forward to this weekend’s match ups, McMaster has also been cursed with the injury bug.  Looks like it will be a battle of two hospital wards.  Lakehead, on the other hand, seems to have a full roster intact.  In both cases, we have our hands full.
 
Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 19 @ McMaster            6pm
Sat., November 20 @ Lakehead                6pm
 
Up Next at Home:
Friday, November 26 vs Windsor               6pm
Sat., November 27 vs Western                   6pm
 
Correction Notice:
Minor correction to my last post regarding the ID/Training Camp set for Sunday, December 5th.  On-court times are 9-11am and 1-3pm (previously reported as 1:30-3:30pm).  Drop me an email if you would like to attend.
 
Have a great week!
 
Dave.


Gaels fall to Gryphons on the road
GUELPH, Ont. (November 12, 2010) – The Queen's Gaels women's basketball team lost 69-59 Friday night to the Guelph Gryphons.
 
Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., led the Gaels in scoring with 20 points on the night.
 
Ali Dzikowski was the top scorer for Guelph as she dropped 21 points to lead the Gryphons to the win.
 
Queen's will be back in action tomorrow night when they take on the Brock Badgers at 6:00 pm in St. Catharines.
 
 
Robinson registers a career high 17 points in 75-67 loss to Badgers
ST. CATHARINES, Ont., (November 13, 2010) - Paige Robinson of Calgary recorded a career high 17 points but her effort wasn't enough as the Queen's Gaels lost 75-67 to the Brock Badgers in women's basketball on Saturday.
 
Robinson, a second year guard with Queen's, was 6-for-12 from the floor and was a perfect from the foul line. She also tallied six rebounds in the loss. Her previous career high was 12 points against Laurentian last January.
 
Hillary Woodside of Fall River, N.S., dropped 21 points in the win for the Badgers as three different players posted double digits to help Brock past Queen's. Whitney Gorges of Welland, Ont., had 18 points while Emily McKay of Toronto posted 10 points. Woodside and Gorges also had eight rebounds.
 
Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., was the only other Gaels to break double digits recording 16 points in 32 minutes of play.
 
Queen's Jill Wheat of Marwayne, Alta., had a game high nine rebounds in the loss.
 
The loss drops Queen's record to 1-3 and the Gaels sit in a four way tie for fourth place in the OUA East with Ryerson, York and RMC.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

life savers

Hi All.
I've worked with quite a few injured athletes this past couple of weeks and the sessions have been reminding me of the stresses I dealt with 5 years ago when I herniated 2 disks in my lower back. I fought the reality of the situation until a good friend of mine reinforced the need to go back to basics and essentially learn to move all over again. It took ages to get things right, but years later, I have very few symptoms and can manage things that I never thought I would be able to do again. The athletes who are facing the injuries that I have seen this past week are at that tricky spot where they need to face the reality of how to work through an injury. It takes more than just dealing with the pain. You need to figure out what else can be done to create improvement and you also need to work on the healthy components of your fitness and make them even better. I will hopefully help them see the light.
My life-saver lesson comes from a trail run that I did on Sunday. The route that I decided to take through Gould Lake was insane. It had rocks, roots, moss, drop offs and crazy ups and downs. On one of the easiest parts of the trail, I went over on my right ankle. The exercises that I have been doing in the weight room became my life savers. I reacted quickly enough to pull myself straight and not completely wreck my ankle. Phew! When I trained this morning, I didn't feel the same frustration that I sometimes do with the picky little exercises and movements. All of this goes back to the one conversation I had with a friend when I was in the midst of recovering from my back injury. I'm hoping that my relatively young and injury inexperienced athletes can get the point before it's too late.

Rodney.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,
 
We opened league play over the weekend with only 8 players dressed for the games and came away with a split.  We lost 63-53 to Laurier and beat Waterloo, 66-42.  (game reports below)
 
We opened the game very well with Laurier – at a rather hectic pace.  Our defense was solid, leading to a number of run-outs and scores in transition.  Laurier countered, however, by jamming all of our breakouts, cutters and screeners; effectively slowing the game down.  We struggled with the physicality of the game, ultimately throwing us off our rhythm.  This is an area of our game requiring specific work, but I am confident that our young team will learn to handle this style.
 
On Saturday, against Waterloo, we again opened the game very well, racking up 28 first quarter points.  Playing a very up-tempo style of game, with significant defensive pressure, allowed us to find our way to the hoop quickly and often.  However, the comfort of a 21 point first quarter lead, took the “edge” off our game, and really played mostly uninspired basketball the rest of the way.  Everyone in sport knows the difficulty in maintaining focus when the game is out of reach, but as a young team we need to develop these skills to avoid the huge swings in score that we have experienced so far this season – another work in progress.
 
Gemma Bullard was named Queen’s Athlete of the Week for her 30 point weekend performance.  Twenty-one of those points came against Waterloo, shooting 2-4 from the 3-pt. line, 6-9 from the floor and 3-3 from the foul line, while grabbing 5 boards.
 
Reminder: ID/Training Camp
We will be hosting our annual ID/Training Camp on Sunday, December 5, 2010.  We have on-court sessions planned from 9:00 to 11:00am and 1:30 to 3:30pm.  Facility tours and question/answer sessions will be held between the on-court sessions.  The camp is open to Grade 10, 11 & 12s (females) who may be interested in attending Queen’s in the future.  There is no cost to register, but please drop me an email if you plan to attend to help me prepare for the numbers.
 
Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 12 @ Guelph     6pm
Sat., November 13 @ Brock           6pm
 
Friday, November 19 @ McMaster            6pm
Sat., November 20 @ Lakehead                6pm
 
Have a great week!
 
Dave.
 
Gaels fall 63-53 to Golden Hawks in home opener
Caleb Homewood - Sports Information Student
11/5/2010 11:16:50 PM
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 5, 2010) – The Queen's Gaels let an early 16 point lead slip away as they suffered a 63-53 loss to the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in their regular season home opener in Kingston Friday night.
 
Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., led the Gaels with 18 points and six rebounds. Gemma Bullard of Guelph, Ont., also contributed nine points for the Gaels in the loss.
 
The Gaels dominated the Golden Hawks early in the game with an offensive performance from Moore. Queen's led by as much as 16 points midway through the second quarter. However, the Golden Hawks clawed back in the final minutes of the second quarter to shorten the Gaels lead to two with a score of 29-27.
 
The Gaels were held to nine points in the third quarter, and a string of turnovers allowed the Golden Hawks to build an eight point lead. Queen's attempted to make a comeback in the final quarter of the game, and a layup from Robinson brought the Gaels within four points. This was as close as Queen's would get, however, as the Laurier kept their lead for a final score of 63-53.
 
Renata Adamczyk of Greensville, Ont., was the leading scorer for the Golden Hawks with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds.
 
 
Bullard scores 21 in 66-42 win over Waterloo
Posted by: Caleb Homewood (Sports Information Student)
11/6/2010 11:14:35 PM
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 6, 2010) – Gemma Bullard of Guelph, Ont., tallied a career-high 21 points as the Queen's Gaels women's basketball team defeated the Waterloo Warriors 66-42 on Saturday.
 
Bullard playing in just her second career CIS regular season contest was 8-for-13 in seventeen minutes on the floor and contributed five rebounds in the win. Her previous high was nine points in the Gaels loss to Laurier on Friday.
 
Queen's Sydney Kernahan of Calgary recorded a double-double in the win tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds. Liz Boag of Kingston, Ont., and Lisa Minutillo of Brantford, Ont., each scored 11 points each for the Gaels.
 
Erin Tilley of Oakville, Ont., led the Warriors with 12 points and 11 rebounds and was the only Warrior to record a double-double.
 
Queen's established a 19 point lead at the end of the first quarter and rode that lead for the next three quarters. The Gaels would never allow Waterloo within 15 points for the remainder of the game.
 
Bullard dominated the Warriors posting 19 points in the first half alone.
 
The win brings the Gaels season record to an even 1-1. Queen's next game is against the Guelph Gryphons in Guelph next Friday November 12.

M-Basketball: Opening Weekend 1-1

Our first weekend of OUA West inter-lock play has come and gone and we find ourselves with a 1-1 record. Our goal going into the weekend was to compete hard in both games and come away with at least a split. We accomplished our second goal in getting the split, but fell short of competing up to our potential for two games.

On Friday night we faced a mature and talented WLU team that has played well so far this year including wins against two preseason top ten predicted teams. Laurier's top 7-8 players are big, strong and play with a high level of confidence that will make them tough to beat in the West this year. Starting games has been a challenge for us this year and that issue continued to hinder us as we went down 14-0 off the jump and despite battling back for the remainder of the corner it is extremely difficult to recover from that type of disadvantage so early in the game. The frustration of this is that Laurier did not fool us or make plays that we were not expecting, but rather on 12 of their first 14 points we made fundamental mistakes that can only be attributed to a lack of concentration and likely nerves. Throughout the game we struggled to find any type of offensive rhythm and were badly out rebounded on the night.

On Saturday night we had a chance to redeem ourselves and as coaches we tried to keep the message very simple. The message was just to compete hard for the entire game. I know that sounds simple, however, we have talked to the guys about the fact that it will continue to be difficult to improve our execution and make adjustments in both ends if they are not playing with a high level of concentration and effort. With that in mind the guys came within about 3 minutes of giving us a complete game at this point in the year. We started the game fairly well and played with good intensity and as a result found ourselves ahead 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was going well until the late stages when Waterloo moved to a zone and we struggled to get organized against it while at the same time allowing that frustration to influence our defensive mindset. In the last few minutes of the quarter Waterloo outscored us badly and went into the half up 14.

At halftime we reinforced that the effort was good and that this allowed us to worry about adjustments and execution. We changed a couple of defensive rotations and assignments and also clarified what exactly we wanted against the zone and headed back out to try and make it a game. The players responded tremendously, both by increasing their level of play and also executing our adjustments nearly flawlessly. In the 3rd we held them to only 7 points while scoring 22 to take a one point lead. In the fourth we continued to defend well only allowing 10 points for a total of 17 second half points and more impressively of those 17 points only two baskets were scored on what we would consider easy shots.

Our defensive effort in the second half showed that there is potential there to stay in ball games every night if we commit to it and also rebound well. I am not sure that the consistency is there yet, however, I do think that the team understands from the weekend that it will be pivotal in our success.

Our three senior guards were very solid on Saturday night as Dan Bannister led us in scoring with 20 points in only his second game since returning from a shoulder separation, Chris Barrett had 15 and handled the ball effectively for most of the game and Tim Boyle provided a sensational second half defensive effort while also recording 9 points and 6 rebounds as well as the game winning free throw. In addition to those players we had strong performances from a number of other players that all provided energy and toughness throughout the game.

We still have a lot of work to do to get to a point where we are going to be competitive with the top teams in the West and East division, however, the players seem committed to giving it their all and as a result we are going to continue to improve.

Thanks to all that attended this weekend. See you in a few weeks when we return home. I will try to post a preview of our games versus Guelph and McMaster later this week.

Sincerely,

Duncan

Monday, November 1, 2010

Women's Basketball - Tindall Tournament

Hi Folks,
 
Our fall exhibition schedule has come to a close with the completion of the Queen’s Tindall Tournament this past weekend with the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), Guelph U., Ottawa U. and Queen’s participating in a Round Robin.
 
Friday we opened with a disappointing loss to Ottawa 57-59 after squandering a 10 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.  We rebounded Saturday, defeating Guelph 70-55, and added another win on Sunday defeating UQAM 66-60.  (Game reports below)
 
Ottawa and UQAM finished with a record of 1-2, while Guelph & Q’s were 2-1.  By virtue of Q’s win over Guelph, we won the tournament.  Guelph finished second, UQAM third (beat Ottawa head to head), and Ottawa fourth.
 
Tournament All-Stars included:
 
Hanna Sunley-Paisley – Ottawa
Irline Noel – UQAM
Jasmine Douglas – Guelph
Jill Wheat – Queen’s
Brittany Moore – Tournament MVP – Queen’s
 
Our game against Ottawa was a battle between two hospital wards – we dressed 8 players and Ottawa only 7, due to injuries.  It turned out to be a back and forth type of affair with Ottawa outscoring us in both the first and fourth quarters.  Our third quarter was our best (18-6) which lifted a bit of a monkey off our backs as third quarters have often been a problem.
 
The Guelph game saw us shoot the ball very well from the 3-point line going 5-11,  with four players hitting at least one 3-pointer.  A strong fourth quarter helped close out this game (18-9).
 
Sunday was a very physical battle with UQAM.  Three-point shooting was a key factor once again, as we shot 38% from behind the arc.  Again four players hit a 3, but Brittany Moore did most of the damage hitting on 5 of her 7 attempts from downtown.  Jill Wheat had an excellent weekend, grabbing 25 rebounds and really anchoring our defense.
 
Our team is continuing to improve.  Handling the “runs” that teams take during the course of the game, while improving, still needs much work.  Learning to ride-out the momentum shifts is very important for our long-term success.
 
Up Next at Home:
Friday, November 5 vs Laurier 6pm
Sat., November 6 vs Waterloo 6pm
 
Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 12 @ Guelph 6pm
Sat., November 13 @ Brock 6pm
 
Have a great week!
 
Dave.
 

KINGSTON, Ont. (October 29, 2010) – The Queen's Gaels lost the opening game of the 2010 Tindall Women's Basketball Invitational 59-57 to the Ottawa Gee Gees.  In the late game, Guelph edged UQAM 71-61. 

 

Ottawa 59, Queen's 57

The Queen's Gaels surrendered a 12-point third-quarter lead to hand the Ottawa Gee Gees a 59-57 victory in the opening game of the Tindall Women's Basketball Invitational.

 

Gee Gee's Hannah Sunley Paisley of Toronto dropped 29 points as she single handily defeated the Gaels.  She also had 14 boards and shot 50% from the field including 9-for-12 from the free-throw line. 

 

Ottawa teammate Kizzy Clare of Montreal was the only other Gee Gee to break double digits with 10 points.

 

Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., was the Gaels top scorer posting 15 points in the loss in 32 minutes of play.  Gemma Bulllard of Guelph, Ont., had 12 points while Meaghan MacDougall of Martintown, Ont., and Paige Robinson of Calgary had 11 and 10 points respectively. 

 

Fifth year veteran, Jill Wheat of Marwayne, Alta., was Queen's top rebounder tallying 11 including nine defensive boards.

 

The game was filled with several offensive swings with Ottawa actually owning an 11 point lead early in the second quarter.  Ottawa took a two-point 26-24 advantage into the half but a miserable third quarter saw the Gee Gees muster just six points while Queen's tallied 18. 

 

Ottawa regained their composure in the fourth to explode four 27 and seal the 59-57 victory.

 

KINGSTON, Ont. (October 30, 2010) – Queen's used balanced scoring to beat the Guelph Gryphons 70-55 in the first game of Day Two of the Tindall Women's Basketball Invitational. Later in the day, UQAM used a huge third quarter to jump out to a 29 point lead, finally finishing with a 72-56 win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

 

Queen's 70, Guelph 55

 

Brittany Moore of Hannon Ont. scored 16 points, helping the Gaels to a 15-point win over the University of Guelph 70-55. The win evens the Gaels at 1-1 in the Tindall Women's Basketball Invitational.

 

Queen's led 37-25 at the half thanks to the outside efforts of Moore and Gemma Bullard of Guelph, Ont., who went a combined 3-6 from downtown. Liz Boag of Kingston, Ont. had a big first half off of the bench with seven points.

 

The referees were quick on their whistles, blowing 25 first half fouls. This hurt the Gryphons the most, leaving three players on the bench in early foul trouble. Both teams had players foul out in the second half.

 

Guelph closed the gap to 6 points at the end of the third period, scoring 21 points on the Gaels. The Gryphons were led on the night by another dominating performance from Jasmine Douglas of Guelph, Ont., who finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. Eight of her 14 rebounds came on the offensive glass. Chelsea Kane of Ingersoll, Ont. had 16 points in the game.

 

The Gaels were able to regroup in the fourth, outscoring the Gryphons by nine points. Four players finished in double figures, including Boag and Paige Robinson of Calgary, both with 15 points. Moore led the Gaels with 16 points, while Sydney Kernahan of Calgary had eight rebounds.

 

 

KINGSTON, Ont. (October 31, 2010) – The Queen's Gaels beat UQAM 66-60 in the final game of the Tindall Women's Basketball invitational to claim the tournament championship. Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., led the Gaels with 25 points in the win. In the early match, Guelph held on to beat the Ottawa Gee Gees 63-61

 

Queen's 66, UQAM 60

 

The Queen's Gaels (2-1) won for the second straight day, handing them the tournament title. Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., scored 25 points, including 5-7 from three-point land, leading the Gaels to a 66-60 win over the UQAM Citadins.

 

The Gaels won the tournament title in a tiebreak due to their win on Saturday over Guelph.

 

The Gaels built a 15-point lead in the first half in part by Moore's 15 first half points, while holding UQAM to 20% shooting. Sydney Kernahan of Calgary provided hustle off the bench with six points, six rebounds, and a block. She finished with eight points and nine rebounds.

 

The Citadins had balanced scoring, with four players in double figures, however it wasn't enough to close the gap. UQAM outscored the Gaels by nine points in the second half. Karine Boudrias of Terrebonne, Que. led the Citadins with 13 points, while Irene Noel of Montreal had a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks.

 

Moore was named the Tournament MVP after averaging 18.7 points per game over three games. She shot 50% (18-36) from the field for the tournament. This includes an outstanding 11-19 (58%) from three point range.

 

Mens Hockey-Alumni Weekend

Alumni weekend was a success I feel and it was great seeing alot of the guys again. I want to Thank, Dave Descent and Murray/Donna Douglas for all the help in organizing this event. Team Red defeated my team gold in a defensive battle 8-7. There we alot of laughs and I think alot of fun had by all. On to the games, we adjusted real well to the top team in the CIS (My opinion) from the last weekend's loss. A few calls (got myself in trouble last year and learned my lesson) will not elaborate did not go our way lets say, and few mistakes and we were right there. I always get asked why we cannnot beat McGill? that blog is for another day as it is like comparing apples to oranges in terms of resources at the 2 schools and I am not making excuses it is just reality. Saturday was another installment on what is becoming a great rivalry between to great programs. Of our last 5 games, 4 have gone to overtime with both coming a way with 2 wins! My guys dug real deep and came up with a gutsy win.