Hi Folks,
Our league home opening weekend proved successful with a
pair of wins over two previously undefeated teams, Laurier and Waterloo, moving
us to 4-0 on the season, and sitting 7th in the national polls. We also lead the nation is points per game
(81.3), offensive rebounding (22.5) and in blocked shots (5.8) in the young
season.
Queen’s 84 – Laurier 78
Although we jumped out to an early lead, this game became
like most of our games over the last few years with Laurier; a tightly
contested, back and forth battle. The
game was tied on 7 occasions and featured 11 lead changes. Despite grabbing an early 14-1 lead, Laurier
closed the opening quarter on a 10-0 run, leaving us with a 24-21 lead. After shooting 45% in the first quarter, we
dropped to 32% in the second, but still managed to outscore Laurier by 1, 18-17
to take a 4-point lead into half time, 42-38.
Laurier’s shooting percentage jumped in the third quarter to 47%, while
ours rose to 39%. Laurier erased the 4-point
deficit and the game was tied at 62 heading into the fourth. Shooting percentage was key in the fourth as
ours raised to 41.2%, while Laurier’s dropped to 37%, allowing us the 6-point
margin, 22-16, finishing with the 84-78 win.
Laurier played almost 35 minutes of zone defense – our first real test
against a prolonged zone. I am pleased
with our point production against their zone.
Our defence, however, is allowing too many points and requires some
improvements. Marianne Alarie continued her stellar offensive production with 22
points, along with 7 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Robyn
Pearson recorded another double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Emily
Hazlett, in addition to her tenacious defense, continues to shine on
offense, with 11 points and 4 assists. Gemma Bullard showed signs of why she
was an All-Star, dropping an efficient 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting. Andrea
Priamo also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
Queen’s 93 – Waterloo
63
Waterloo came out strong (following their wins over York and
Toronto) and kept pace for the first 5 minutes of the quarter, before we
started to pull away. We shot a very efficient
11 of 19 (58%) to grab a 28-15 quarter lead.
Although our shooting percentage dropped in the second quarter (41%),
our defense tightened, outscoring Waterloo, 15-7, to lead 43-22 at half. We opened the third quarter with a good run,
and never let up, outscoring Waterloo, 27-18, while shooting 44% from the floor. Waterloo found their range in the fourth and
matched our scoring at 23 to finish with the 93-63 final. Our 30-point game margin was also matched by
our rebounding margin, 54-24. Marianne
Alarie finished with 17, while Emily
Hazlett dropped 11. Andrea Priamo and Bridget Mulholland each had 11 points, while Veronika Lavernge just missed a double-double with 9 points and 9
boards.
Just over a week away for our
annual ID/Training Camp in
early December (Sunday the 4th). It will involve on-court sessions with
the Q’s coaching staff from 9:30-11:45am and again 1:30-3:30pm, along with a
facility tour and Q&A session in between. It is intended for student
athletes in Grades 10-12 who may have an interest in Queen’s down the
road. There is no cost for the Training Camp, but please drop me an email
if you would like to attend, so I can prepare for the numbers.
Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 25 @ Lakehead 6pm
Up Next on the Road:
Friday, November 25 @ Lakehead 6pm
Up Next at Home:
Saturday, December 3 vs. Algoma 6pm
Have a great week.
Dave.
