Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Another split on the weekend – very much a Jekyll & Hyde affair – as we dominated our Friday game against McMaster, winning 94-65, before playing our sloppiest basketball of the season to lose in overtime to Brock 71-69.

We came out firing on all cylinders Friday night against McMaster dominating from the opening tip off. Moving and shooting the basketball very well, we opened up a 29-13 lead at the end of one quarter. McMaster tried to battle back in the second, but we managed to increase our lead, outscoring the Maurauders 20-16, to head into half time with a 49-29 lead. In past years, we have struggled when holding a significant half time lead – so this was an area of concern. Those concerns were alleviated pretty quickly as we extended our lead with a 25-14 quarter. Mac outscored us by two in the final quarter, 22-20 to end with the 94-65 score.

Rachael Urosevic (named Player of the Game) led all scorers with 15 points on 4-7 shooting from beyond the 3pt. line. Paige Robinson and Brittany Moore each had 14 points, while Christine Wallace added 10 points. All 11 players dressed (Liz Boag is recovering from a mild concussion) recorded at least 2 points, and while we shot the ball extremely well (50% from 2, 60% from 3, and 86% from the foul line), a key factor was our ability to take care of the ball, recording a season low 14 turnovers.

Now for the Hyde version on Saturday against Brock. One would think that playing the #8 ranked team in the country (and only undefeated team in Ontario) to a 2-point overtime loss would mean that we played fairly well. And there is some truth to that, as we matched or out-did Brock in virtually every statistical category, except for the number of shots taken (they took 10 more shots) and scored 27 points off of our 34 turnovers. The 34 turnovers is the story of the game. Double digit rebounding by Sydney Kernahan (12) and Christine Wallace (11) helped us out-rebound Brock 54-32, which kept us in the game. Brock lead 20-13 after the first quarter, but we battled back holding them to 5 points in the second while scoring 11 to trail 25-24 at the half, despite 23 first half turnovers. Brock surged ahead in the third, outscoring us 25-22, followed by a 14-10 fourth quarter in our favour to leave us deadlocked at 60 at the end of regulation. Brock’s posts did the damage in overtime outscoring us 11-9 to finish with the 71-69 final.

Brittany Moore poured in another 21 points, while Sydney Kernahan added 10 points to go along with her 12 boards. Jenny Wright also hit double digits with 10 points and 6 boards. Christine Wallace grabbed 11 boards.

Reminder: Queen’s ID/Training camp is just over a week away. Sunday, December 11th we will be on the court from 9:30-12n and 1:30-3:30pm. In between the on-court sessions, we will tour the Athletics & Recreation Centre and have a question and answer session for players and parents. Players in Grades 10-12, with a possible interest in Q’s are invited to attend. There is no cost – just drop me an email so I can prepare for the numbers.

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, December 2 @ Western 6pm
Saturday, December 3 @ Windsor 6pm

Have a great week.

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Not exactly the weekend we were looking for, losing to Laurier 80-60 before beating Waterloo 83-52.

We came out very flat against Laurier, seeming unfocused and certainly lacking precision and intensity. Laurier, on the other hand came out flying, executing and hitting their shots, shredding our defence. We trailed 20-15 after the first and 44-32 at half. After going down 20 partway through the third quarter, we did mount a run to bring it back to 9, but that was as close as we would get. Laurier went on to outscore us 16-11 in the third and 20-17 in the fourth to finish with the 80-60 win.

Brittany Moore was our only player in double figures scoring with 14 points. Sydney Kernahan had a very solid game on the boards, contributing 8 points, and bringing energy to an otherwise lackluster performance.

Link to Q’s Sports Article: http://www.gogaelsgo.com/news/2011/11/18/WBB_1118111728.aspx?path=wbball

Energy and focus would be a good description for how we started the game against Waterloo. It was clear the players were unhappy about their previous evening’s performance. Two minutes into the game and we are up 12-0, as our defence was solid, allowing us to run in transition. The quarter ended with us up 27-15 as a late quarter lapse in concentration led to a few Waterloo hoops. Refocused for the second quarter, we dominated with a 24-9 point outburst to go into half 51-24. We continued the solid play, albeit at a slightly slower pace in the third, outscoring Waterloo 16-9, before being outscored in the fourth, 16-19 to finish with the 83-52 win.

All 11 players dressed (Liz Boag was out with a mild concussion sustained the previous evening) scored in the game with Brittany Moore tallying 24 in only 20 minutes of playing time. Lisa Minutillo dropped 12 points on 5-7 shooting.

Link to Q’s Sports Article: http://www.gogaelsgo.com/news/2011/11/19/nov19wball.aspx?path=wbball

OFSAA (High School Provincial Basketball Championships) come to Kingston (AAA) and Brockville (AA) this Thursday to Saturday. Queen’s will be hosting a number of games including the AAA finals on Saturday. Should be some great basketball in the two cities.

The ID/Training Camp scheduled for December 11th is shaping up quite nicely. It is designed for players in Grades 10-12 that may have an interest in Q’s down the road. There will be two on-court sessions (9:30-12n & 1:30-3:30pm), along with a Facility Tour and Questions & Answer session over the lunch break. There is no cost to attend, please just drop me an email so I can plan for the numbers.

Up Next at Home:
Friday, November 25 vs. McMaster @ 6pm
Saturday, November 26 vs. Brock @ 6:30pm (note later start time to accommodate OFSAA)

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, December 2 vs. Western @ 6:00pm
Saturday, December 3 vs. Windsor @ 6:00pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Our first weekend of league play was quite successful as we beat Lakehead 57-44 and Guelph 83-77 in overtime.

We had a decent start to the Lakehead game, grabbing a 13-9 first quarter lead. We built on that lead in the second outscoring Lakehead 15-11 to take an 8 point lead into half time, 28-20. Lakehead came out in a box & 1 defence in the second half to try and shake things up. Liz Boag responded by draining a two point jumper and two 3-pointers for a quick 8 points. Before 2 ½ minutes had elapsed, our lead had ballooned to 22 points and Lakehead had burned two timeouts. We outscored our opposition 24-11 in the third effectively sealing the game. The fourth quarter was nothing to write home about as our offense struggled badly only tallying 5 points to Lakehead’s 13, leaving us with the 57-44 victory.

Brittany Moore was high scorer with 13 points – the only Q’s player to hit double digits. Paige Robinson was name Player of the Game for her defensive efforts, along with her 9 points.

Against Guelph we had a very good start to the game opening up an 8 point lead, 20-12, after the first quarter. The tables turned in the second as Guelph outscored us 20-11 to take a 1point half time lead, 32-31. We started the third quarter well on offence, although we could not contain Guelph’s offence. We outscored Guelph 20-19 in the third to head into the fourth quarter tied at 51. The fourth quarter resolved nothing as we each added 15 points to the board. Heading into overtime, Guelph started with an inbound pass from centre court which Brittany Moore deflected, grabbed and raced for a lay up to give us the early lead. In the next few minutes, Moore would hit back to back to back 3 point shots, for a total of 11 points in the overtime as we outscored Guelph 17-11 in the five minute frame to win 83-77. While this was happening, Moore was also assigned to shut down Guelph’s leading perimeter shooter, preventing her from getting untracked in the overtime.

Moore finished the night with 26 points and was named Player of the Game. Liz Boag continued her outstanding play with 14 points and 5 assists, while Christine Wallace added 11 points and 6 boards. Sydney Kernahan also hit double digits with 13 rebounds to go along with her 8 points.

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 18 @ Wilfrid Laurier @ 6pm
Saturday, November 19 @ Waterloo @ 6pm

Up Next at Home:
Friday, November 25 vs. McMaster @ 6pm
Saturday, November 26 vs. Brock at 6:30pm (note late start)

High School/Club Players Interested in Queen’s: The Annual Winter ID/Training Camp is set for Sunday, December 11 from 9:30am to 3:30pm. The day will include 2 on-court sessions with the Queen’s Coaching Staff, a tour of the Athletic & Recreation Centre and a Q&A session in regards to playing at Queen’s, admissions, and campus life. Ideally suited for students in grades 10 to 12. Parents are welcome to watch the on-court sessions, join the tour and the Q&A session. There is no cost to attend, just drop me an email so I can prepare for the numbers.

Have a great week!

Dave.

2011-2012 Season is well underway!

Hey Gaels fans!

The 2011-2012 season is well underway and we are very excited with the start we've had!

The exhibition season was one of our busiest ever - playing tournaments in Montreal and Ottawa as well as individual games against McGill, Colgate and Team China. While busy and challenging, those games prepared us well for the start of another tough OUA season. There is incredible parity in the league this year - every opponent is good and you need to be ready each game.

As such, we could not be happier with our 7-2 start. We have 8 more games before the Christmas break and each will provide a unique challenge.

I should also mention that the team went on a weekend retreat near Peterborough in early October. Camp facilitator Larry Pearson was amazing and despite the cold and rain, the team had a great time!

We are also excited for our upcoming Alumni dinner and silent auction, which will take place on November 26th. Please contact me if you'd like to know more details.

In addition, we have once again partnered up with the local girl's minor hockey association (Kingston Ice Wolves). That partnership will include a clinic on November 25th and a special Minor Hockey day on November 26th.

Finally, we are extremely happy to see the other Gaels teams succeeding on the field of play. Its been a great Fall season thus far and we're looking forward to more success in the Winter term!

Take care,

Matt

Women's Basketball - Game Reports

Hi Folks,

Another successful weekend to report as we downed Nazareth College of Rochester, NY 57-48 and SUNY Geneseo of Geneseo, NY 66-55.

Playing again this weekend without captain, Brittany Moore (resting an aggravated knee), the rest of the team stepped up and performed quite well. While we outsized Nazareth, they had good team speed and were a perimeter shooting threat. In reality, neither team shot the ball well, contributing to the low score. We led 26-21 at half as we adjusted to playing American rules (20min. halves). We came out in the second half and opened a double digit lead, only to have Nazareth storm back to bring the game within 2, 44-42. We weathered the storm and finished the game on a 13-6 run to finish with the 57-48 win. Rookie, Jenny Wright got untracked with 19 points – the only Q’s player with double digits in scoring. Christine Wallace, however, had 11 rebounds and 9 points, and Sydney Kernahan had 10 boards.

The start of Saturday’s game was not one for the scrapbook. Geneseo got off to a quick start and led 10-0 after 5 min. Over the next 5 minutes we only managed 4 points and trailed 14-4 half way through the first half. The next 10 minutes held no resemblance to the first 10 as we stepped up our defense and started pushing the ball in transition. We added 28 points in that time and surrendered 8, to lead at half 32-22. We traded baskets for the first part of the second half – then Geneseo made their run and reduced our lead to 5, 55-50 with 5 minutes to play. We finished the game with an 11-5 run to win 66-55. Liz Boag finished with a game high 18 points (including 4-7 from beyond the arc). Jenny Wright hit double digits for the second consecutive night with 11 points, 5 boards and 4 assists. All of our perimeter players hit a 3 point shot in the game as we went 10 for 29 from downtown.

That concludes our fall exhibition schedule. The next four weekends will see us play the 8 Ontario West teams for league play.

Up Next at Home:
Friday, November 11 vs. Lakehead 6pm
Saturday, November 12 vs. Guelph 6pm

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 18 @ Laurier 6pm
Saturday, November 19 @ Waterloo 6pm

Have a great week.

Dave.