Monday, February 24, 2014

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Our win streak is still alive at 8, with our 67-56 victory over Toronto in the East semi-final match up. It was not the prettiest of games at times, but our quarter-court defense and “hustle points” made the difference. That, and a very boisterous crowd – really created a great atmosphere and helped energize out team. We will now host Carleton for the East Championship (and a berth in the Nationals). Carleton beat Ottawa, 57-39 in the other semi-final.

Queen’s 67 – Toronto 56
We had a great up-tempo start to the game, with very tough quarter court defense, forcing 8 Toronto turnovers. We finished the quarter up 19-10. The roles reversed in the second quarter as we turned the ball over 6 times, allowing Toronto to score in transition. They outscored us 19-24, but we still held a 38-34 half time lead. Toronto clawed back another point in the third (15-16) to pull within 3 heading into the final frame. Our defense stiffened considerably and we took care of the ball on offense (only 1 turnover) to outscore Toronto 14-6, and secure the 67-56 final. Liz Boag led the way with 21 points, while Jenny Wright added 16 to go along with her 7 assists. Gemma Bullard dropped 11 points, while Robyn Pearson hit double digits in rebounding with 11 to go along with her 7 points.

Box score: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb/2014/boxscores_post/20140222_ti35.xml

Up Next at Home:
Saturday, March 1 vs. Carleton 6pm (OUA East Championship)

Possible scenarios heading forward:

Note: Windsor is hosting Laurier on Saturday for the OUA West Championship


*A Queen’s win (which would provide a berth to the Nationals) and a Windsor win would see us travel to Windsor for the OUA Championship on Saturday, March 8

*A Queen’s win and a Windsor loss would see us travel to Laurier for the OUA Championship on Saturday, March 8

*A Queen’s loss and a Windsor win would see us host the Bronze Medal game vs. Laurier on Saturday, March 8 (winner receives a berth to the Nationals)

*A Queen’s loss and a Windsor loss – our season would be over. As Windsor is hosting the National Championships, they are guaranteed a berth, and the Bronze Medal game would not need to be played. (I still need to confirm this last scenario).


Have a great week!

Dave.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,
Our final two games of the regular season saw us record our 6th & 7th consecutive wins to capture the OUA East title with a 16-6 record. Carleton finished with the same record, but by virtue of the point spread head to head (we lost at Carleton by 2, but beat them at home by 5) we are first and will maintain home court advantage throughout the playoffs, following a first round bye.

On Wednesday, February 19th, sixth place York will head to third place Ottawa, while fifth place Ryerson will head across town to play fourth place Toronto. The lower of the two seeds remaining will travel to us on Saturday, February 22, while the higher winning seed will travel to Carleton.

Queen’s 63 – Toronto 58
We opened the game quite well, handling Toronto’s full court pressure fairly well. However, we did make a few costly turnovers that allowed Toronto to get into their highly effective transition game. We led 12-8 after the first quarter. The second quarter saw a little more scoring with Toronto holding 13-14 edge, leaving us with a 25-22 half time lead. We ramped things up in the third quarter, almost doubling our score, registering 22 points to Toronto’s 13. Toronto, however, came storming back late in the fourth quarter, reducing our 12 point lead to only 4 with 2 minutes to go. We managed to hold our own down the stretch and pull back to a 5 point lead, hitting our foul shots (7 for 8) when they counted most. We had a very balanced attack with four players scoring in double digits. Jenny Wright finished with 15, Gemma Bullard, 12, Emily Hazlett, 11, and Liz Boag, 10. Robyn Pearson also hit double digits, recording 13 boards to go along with her 6 points.

Box score: http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140214_0gvj.xml

Queen’s 88 – Ryerson 66
This was a more open, fast-pace style of game, with both teams looking to score in transition. While shooting the ball quite well, we were a little careless with our footwork, leading to 6 turnovers in the quarter. Still, we managed to outscore Ryerson 18-15. In the second quarter our defence tightened significantly surrendering only 9 points, while our offense continued to roll, posting 23. We kept the pace going in the third quarter, outscoring Ryerson 21-16 in the third. With a 62-40 lead heading into the fourth, it looked like the game was well in hand. However, Ryerson went on a 12-0 run mid-way through the fourth to cut the lead to 10 with 3 ½ minutes to go. We managed to regroup after a time out and go on a 14-2 run of our own to restore the 22 point advantage and finish with the 88-66 win. Again we had four players in double digits scoring: Liz Boag with 23 (and 4 assists), Robyn Pearson with 16 (and 12 boards), Jenny Wright with 15, and Gemma Bullard with 12.

Box score: http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140215_by3k.xml

Up Next at Home:
OUA East Semi-Finals
Saturday, February 22 vs. Tbd 6:00pm (will be Toronto, Ryerson or York)
(reminder: OUA passes & complimentary tickets are not permitted by OUA regulation for play off games)
Tickets are available at the door, or on-line at www.GoGaelsGo.com

Have a great week!

Dave.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

A very successful weekend on a number of fronts, not the least of which was moving into first place in our division with wins over Ottawa and Carleton. Both were very physical, grind out games. We also celebrated our annual Parent’s Night, with our parents coming down on the floor at half time to receive a small gift from our team. Following the game, we recognized Gemma Bullard as our lone graduating player (4th yr. Civil Engineering). Gemma has already made plans to return (she has two years of eligibility remaining) next year in a Master’s program.

With two league games remaining, we now know that we will finish 1st or 2nd depending on how the weekend goes. It means we will have a 1st round bye in the playoffs (Wed., Feb. 19) and will be hosting on Saturday, February 22 at 6pm.

Queen’s 51 – Ottawa 47
We started this game very poorly, unable to find the bottom of the net. Four minutes in, we were down 3-12. We did settle down and finish the quarter trailing, 9-14. We turned the table in the second quarter, outscoring Ottawa 14-8 to take a 1 point lead into the break. Ottawa regained the lead in the third outscoring us 12-14. With numerous lead changes in the fourth, we managed a 16-11 quarter to win, 51-47. Ottawa scored almost half of their points off second-chance opportunities (20) which is a concern we need to address. To counter that, however, we outscored Ottawa 20-10 on points off turnovers, thanks to our aggressive defence. Liz Boag led all scorers with 23 points, including 5 for 7 from beyond the arc. Jenny Wright finished with 17 points (all in the second half) to go along with her 5 assists.

Box score: http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140207_y7q2.xml

Queen’s 63 – Carleton 58
After our disappointing loss to Carleton at their place (2pts), this was an important test to see how we handle the game. We started fairly well, scoring the first 7 points of the game, but then Carleton got hot and went on a 9-1 run. Offenses began to gain traction in the second quarter, with both teams connecting on 3 three’s. However, Carleton outscored us 16-24 in the quarter, to send us into the break trailing 24-33. Our shooting percentage in the first half was rather dismal, but that was erased in the third and fourth quarters. We outscored Carleton 22-11 in the third to take a 46-44 lead into the fourth. Unable to maintain that lead, the game went back and forth throughout the quarter until the final minute. Some solid defense and clutch shooting led us to a 17-14 quarter and the 63-58 win. This means we have the point spread on Carleton, propelling us into first place in our division. Gemma Bullard led all scorers with 19 point and 6 boards, while Robyn Pearson added 14 point and 5 boards. Jenny Wright also hit double digits with 11 points and 4 boards.

Box score: http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140208_3w2d.xml

A belated congratulations to Robyn Pearson for being named Queen’s Athlete of the Week last week following our two wins over Algoma and Laurentian. Liz Boag has received the accolade this week for her performances in the wins over Ottawa and Carleton.

Thanks to first year players, Nicole Barnard, Sarah Saftich and Abby Dixon who travelled to Sinclair PS during their literacy awareness campaign to read to some Gr. 7/8s. They were very well received, and resulted in a number of their students and teacher attending our game on Saturday.

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, February 14 @ Toronto 6pm (note: the reception originally planned for after the game has been postponed)
Saturday, February 15 @ Ryerson 6pm

Up Next at Home:

East Semi-Final
Saturday, February 22 vs. Tbd 6pm

(Please note that as per OUA regulations, no complimentary or season pass tickets may be used for play-off games. Tickets can be purchased at the door or on-line at www.gogaelsgo.com ).

Have a great week!

Dave.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Another successful weekend garnering two wins over Algoma and Laurentian, to run our record to 12-6. We are one game behind first place Carleton and tied with Ottawa, as both those teams lost a game this weekend. We do, however, have the tougher schedule heading into the final two league-play weekends. We will host Ottawa & Carleton this weekend, and then head on the road to Toronto & Ryerson. Ottawa/Carleton, after visiting us, will host Laurentian & Algoma.

Queen’s 66 – Algoma 21
Constant ball pressure right from the opening tip was the key to putting this game away early. Algoma was unable to get anything going offensively against our pressure and traps. We were able to force numerous turnovers and score in transition, leading to a 26-7 first quarter. Much the same in the second quarter, holding Algoma to only 2 points while registering 15. The third quarter was more of the same, 18-8 before finishing out the game, 66-21. Robyn Pearson was the only player to reach double digits with 14 points and 7 boards. Three other players registered 9 points: Liz Boag, Emily Hazlett and Abby Dixon.

Box Score: http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140131_tiyk.xml


Queen’s 69 – Laurentian 50
Scoring-wise, we started this game fairly well, however, a few mental lapses on defence allowed Laurentian to hang around. We held a 7 point lead after one period, 19-12. Our defense, again constantly pressuring their ball handlers, became more effective in the second quarter, surrendering only 8 points to our 16. Laurentian regrouped at half time and outscored us 12-14 in the third (the only quarter we lost all weekend). Stepping up the pressure, we finished the fourth outscoring Laurentian 22-16, leading to the 69-50 final. We had balanced scoring again in this game with four players reaching double digits. Liz Boag & Jenny Wright each had 15, while Gemma Bullard and Robyn Pearson added 12.

Box Score: http://english.cis-sic.ca/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140201_9exc.xml
(note: these stats are not particularly accurate as they had computer issues – we are trying to get them redone from film)

Up Next at Home:
Friday, February 7 vs. Ottawa 6pm
Saturday, February 8 vs. Carleton 6pm (Graduating Athlete’s Night)

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, February 14 @ Toronto 6pm (Reception to follow at Harbord House)
Saturday, February 15 @ Ryerson 6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.