Monday, October 26, 2015

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

We finished a 3 game, 3 city road trip on Saturday, with stops in St. Catherine’s (Brock), Hamilton (McMaster) and Guelph.  We finished with only 1 win and 2 losses – a disappointing result.

Queen’s 56 – Brock 68
Our first stop was in St. Catherine’s to face Brock where we jumped out to an early lead and grew it to as much as 10 late in the first quarter.  We finished the quarter up 19-11, shooting almost 50% from the floor.  For an unknown reason (at least to me), our shooting touch left us for the rest of the game, dropping into the low 20s.  We were outscored 14-20 in the second and 10-25 in the third.  The fourth quarter wasn’t much better, although we did outscore Brock 13-12, but still only shooting in the low 30s.  We were unusually cold from the 3pt. line, finding the mesh only 3 times in 22 attempts (13.6%).   Marianne Alarie was the only player to hit double digits, dropping 18 point.


Queen’s 54 – McMaster 79
No question our shooting woes continued on Friday night in Hamilton shooting only 23% and scoring only 8 points in the opening quarter to trail 8-18.  While our shooting improved somewhat in the second, our defense was unable to stop the Marauders as they outscored us 17-23 to take a commanding 25-41 halftime lead.  Mac continued to execute offensively outscoring us by 4 in the third quarter (19-23) and 5 in the fourth quarter (10-15) to rack up the big spread.  Not surprisingly they beat us in every significant statistical category (shots taken, shooting percentage, rebounding, turnovers, steals, and assists).  Marianne Alarie led the way in scoring, again with 18 points, followed by Emily Hazlett with 13.


Queen’s 78 – Guelph 62
Despite the fact that this was our third game in as many nights against fresh teams, we looked strong and rested.  Our shooting in this game improved significantly over the past two games (unfortunately Guelph had computer issues and was not able to provide the stats).   We continued to get stronger as the game progressed, outscoring Guelph 14-10 in the first, 20-17 in the second, 22-15 in the third and 22-20 in the fourth.  Five players finished in double digits with Marianne Alarie chalking up her usual 18, while Jenny Wright and Abby Dixon each had 11.  Emily Hazlett and Robyn Pearson finished with 10 apiece.


We will be holding our annual ID/Training Camp on Sunday, November 29th.  On court sessions will be from 9:30-11:45am and again from 1:30-3:30pm.  During the break in between, we will conduct a facility tour and a question and answer session (for players and parents).  The camp is designed for players in Grade 10-12 that may be interested in Queen’s as a university destination.  There is no charge for the camp, but please drop me an email so I can keep track of the numbers.

Up Next at Home:
Saturday, November 7 vs. York  6pm (league opener)

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 13 @ Laurentian  6pm
Saturday, November 14 @ Nipissing  6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.



Monday, October 5, 2015

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

We opened our CIS exhibition schedule in Montreal on Friday with a win over Concordia, 67-47. We got off to a good start, exerting a great deal of pressure over the full court, taking Concordia out of their rhythm.  We also did a very good job of taking care of the basketball, registering only 3 turnovers in the first half.  Our transition game provided us with good scoring opportunities, leading to a 21-12 lead after the first quarter.  We continued on a similar pace in the second quarter, 19-11 to go into half time with a 40-23 lead.  We continued our dominance in the third quarter, although our shooting percentage was a little lower, opening a 56-35 lead.  Concordia outscored us 11-12 in the fourth, but the game was never in doubt.  Emily Hazlett finished with a game-high 15 points, along with 3 assists and 3 steals in only 24 minutes of play.  Abby Dixon chipped in with 11 points, 3 boards and 2 steals.  Maddie Morris hit double digits in the rebounding category with 10, to go along with her 9 points and 3 steals.

I am very excited to announce that former Team Canada Olympic Coaches (London 2012), Allison and Mike McNeill will be travelling to Kingston shortly after Christmas to work with our team.  Our High Performance funding is allowing us to bring them in for four days to work on-court with our athletes, both in a team setting, and as individuals.  They will also spend time with our coaching staff, helping to evaluate and advise on a variety of tactics and strategies. 

McNeill is the longest-serving coach in senior national team history with an 11-year career. She guided Canada to the world championships in 2006 and 2010, returning after a 12-year absence. She did the same with the team and the Olympics, getting Canada to the Games for the first time in more than a decade, finishing in the top-8 after advancing to the quarter-finals for the first time in a 12-team tournament.  Under her reign, Canada moved into the Top 10 in the world!

Momentum is building for our Alumni vs. Alumni game scheduled for Saturday, October 17th at 1:00pm.  All Alumni, regardless of year, are encouraged to participate.  The reception in the evening will be honouring the teams from 1995-96 to 1999-2000.  Of course this is in conjunction with our Tindall Tournament as follows:

Friday, October 16
6:00pm Queen’s vs. UQAM  Main Gym

Saturday, October 17
1:00pm Alumni vs. Alumni  Bews Gym
6:00pm Queen’s vs. Memorial U.  Main Gym
7:30pm Alumni & Family/Friends Reception and Silent Auction  Alumni Lounge

Sunday, October 18
2:00pm Queen’s vs. Carleton

You can register for the weekend and receive a discount on game tickets at:

Prior to the Tindall Tournament, we have added a mid-week exhibition game as follows:

Tuesday, October 13
6:00pm Queen’s vs. Windsor  Main Gym

Have a great Thanksgiving (Canadian)!

Dave.