Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

My least favourite newsletter of the year – meaning our season has come to a close with a loss to McMaster, 55-65.  They will move on to the Final Four against Ottawa, while Ryerson will play Windsor.  The games will be held at Ottawa U. this Friday and Saturday.

Queen’s 55 – McMaster 65

This game started pretty much as we expected – a tough grind at both ends of the floor.  Despite good scoring opportunities (for both teams), the ball was not falling resulting in a 10-12 point quarter in favour of McMaster.  The game “loosened up” a little in the second quarter, but shooting percentage favoured Mac as they outscored us 15-20 to take a 25-32 lead into the half.  The game became a grind again in the third quarter as we only managed 9 points (to Mac’s 13) as our shooting percentage dropped below the 20% mark.  We trailed 34-45 heading into the final quarter.  Things got worse before getting better as Mac built a 15 point lead by the 6 minute mark.  We were then able to turn up the heat and go on a run for the first time in the game and closed the score all the way down to 3 points with 57 seconds left in the game.  Unable to convert on our next possession we were forced to foul – eventually increasing the deficit back to 10.  Jenny Wright finished off her CIS career with a double-double, 14 points, 12 boards and 3 steals.  Robyn Pearson had another excellent game with 16 points, 15 boards and 3 blocked shots.

So our season has come to a close.  While this is the last Game Report of the season, I will be sending out another Newsletter in the not-too-distant future with a season re-cap, All-Star selections and other exciting news.

Thanks to all for such great support, in the gyms, via email, and especially to our families who welcomed us into their homes (and sometimes at the gyms) for team meals.  We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have such a caring, loyal and supportive fan base.

Cheers,

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Not the weekend we were looking for to close out our regular season: losing by 5 points to both Ryerson and Toronto, to finish with a 14-5 regular season record.  The losses dropped us from the 2^nd ranked team in the province to 5^th, one spot away from an opening round bye in the playoffs.  Instead of hosting a second round game next Saturday, we will host an opening round game on Wednesday against Laurentian.  The winner will travel to Hamilton on Saturday to take on McMaster.

Queen’s 61 – Ryerson 66

To say we started this game poorly would be an understatement, going a full 7 minutes without recording a point.  Five turnovers in that span and our inability to convert on any of our shots, left us down 13 before we found the bottom of the net.  We did finish the quarter on an 11-6 run to trail 11-19 after one quarter.  The second quarter was not much better, converting on only 5 of 17 shots and failing to get to the foul line once.  We were outscored 10-13 in the quarter to trail 21-32 at the break.  The third quarter we converted 6 of 18 shots, but were more aggressive, getting to the foul line 7 times (making 5) to score 18 in the quarter.  Unfortunately our defense could not contain Ryerson as they matched that output, so we trailed 39-50 heading into the fourth.  We came to life in spurts in the fourth quarter scoring 22 points, while holding Ryerson to 16, but could not overcome the 11 point deficit.  Emily Hazlett finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists.  Robyn Pearson chalked up another double double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Marianne Alarie added 10 points.  Jenny Wright also hit double digits with 10 rebounds.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/2/26/WBB_v_Ryerson.aspx?path=wbball

Queen’s 70 – Toronto 75

Another slow start to the game saw us miss 11 of our first 12 shots, despite having very good looks.  Fortunately Toronto struggled to put the ball in the hoop as well.  We then went on a good scoring spree, but Toronto managed to find their rhythm as well.  First quarter ended with us leading 16-13.  Toronto’s Rahshida Atkinson took control in the second quarter scoring 11 of her team’s 17.  We put up 13 to trail 29-30 at the half.  The pace picked up in the third quarter and we were unable to contain Toronto’s offence and with less than a minute and a half to go in the quarter, they were up 10.  We managed to score 6 straight points to cut the lead to 4 at the end of 3, 50-54.  Turnovers became the story of the fourth quarter.  We had opportunities to control the game, but 18 second half turnovers killed any momentum we tried to establish.  Jenny Wright finished with a season-high 28 points, along with 9 boards, 5 steals and 4 blocked shots. Emily Hazlett had 13 points, while Robyn Pearson & Andrea Priamo each hit double digits in rebounding, finishing with 13 and 12 respectively.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/2/27/WBB_v_Toronto.aspx?path=wbball

Up Next at Home - Playoffs:

Wednesday, March 2 vs. Laurentian  6pm*

* Please note that, as per OUA regulations, complimentary tickets are not accepted for playoff games.  Tickets can be purchased at our Customer Service Desk.

Cheers,

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Just one game to report on this week as we completed our last league road trip at Algoma University with a convincing 67-34 win despite being only able to dress 10 players due to injuries.  We climbed to # 9 in the National rankings thanks to our wins over Western & Windsor last week.  Currently, our playoff picture has us ranked #2 in the province (behind Ottawa), with the final weekend of league play to come.  Finishing in the top 4 of the province would provide a first round bye, followed by a home game.  Finishing first in the province allows you to host the Final Four (must win your quarter final game).

Queen’s 67 – Algoma 34

We got off to a good start in this game, exerting solid pressure against Algoma’s offense and forcing a number of turnovers or highly contested shots.  This led to a number of run outs and 22-6 first quarter lead.  The second quarter, however, left much to be desired, as defensive breakdowns led to a number of open 3s for Algoma, and they took full advantage outscoring us 8-15.  Our lead was cut to 9 by half, 30-21.  We regrouped at half and executed much better in the third, outscoring Algoma 24-6 effectively taking the game out of reach.  We led 54-27 after 3.  We continued to play solid defense in the fourth, allowing only 7 points to our 13 to finish with the 67-34 win.  Jenny Wright led all scorers with 16 points in only 19 minutes of action.  Marianne Alarie pumped in 14 points to go along with her 4 boards and 4 steals.

Our last two league games are at home this coming weekend, with Ryerson and Toronto visiting Kingston.  The games have significant playoff implications.  Ontario is divided into 4 Divisions, with the top 3 teams in each Division qualifying for the playoffs.  Those 12 teams are then seeded 1 through 12 (regardless of divisional standing), with the top 4 teams receiving a first round bye.  The first round would see the 5^th seed hosting the 12 seed, the 6^th seed hosting the 11^th seed, etc.  on Wednesday, March 2^nd .  The quarter finals would then be played on Saturday, March 5^th at the sites of the top 4 finishers.  The highest remaining seed after those games will host the OUA Final Four on Friday/Saturday, March 11, 12.

With this weekend being our last regular season home games, we will be honouring our graduating players, Nicole Morse, Robyn Pearson & Jenny Wright immediately following our game on Saturday evening against Toronto.  At half time of the game, we also have a small presentation for the parents of the players.

Up Next at Home:

Friday, February 26 vs. Ryerson  6pm

Saturday, February 27 vs. Toronto  6pm (Graduating Athlete Night)

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

We had another very successful weekend with wins over Western and Windsor.  The Western game was at home on Friday night – followed by a trip to Toronto immediately after the game.  Of course, the Windsor game was played in conjunction with the NBA All-Star Weekend activities.  It also allowed us some time to explore the facility and meet some of the NBA legends.

We moved up one spot to 11^th in the country last week (after beating Guelph & Lakehead), and will likely move back into the Top 10 with the two wins this past weekend.  We sit atop our Division with a 13-3 record (Ryerson is 12-3 with a game in hand).  Also of note, Robyn Pearson was named Queen’s Athlete of the Week for the second time, this past week.

Queen’s 69 – Western 64

We had a very good start in this game, dominating the first quarter on the glass (15-5) and shooing the basketball (12/20 vs. 2/14) to grab a 26-9 first quarter lead.  It would prove to be the difference in the game, as Western went on to win all 3 of the remaining quarters.  In the second, Western found their shooting touch, converting on almost 64% of their shots, while our percentage dropped to 32%.  We were outscored 13-20, to leave us with a 39-29 half-time lead.  The third quarter was fast-paced and played basically even, 19-20.  The fourth quarter saw Western chip away at our lead, eventually taking the lead and going up as much as 3 points with just over 4 minutes to play.  Their lead was short-lived, however, as we recaptured the lead and then held them without a field goal for the last minute and a half of the game, to win 69-64.  Abby Dixon led the way with 17 points and 3 steals, while Robyn Pearson had another double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.  Marianne Alarie continued her fine play with 10 points.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/2/12/WBB_v_Western.aspx?path=wbball

Queen’s 60 – Windsor 41

Unlike the Western game, we were unable to find our range in the opening quarter against Windsor.  Adjusting to the new surroundings proved difficult for both teams as we shot 3/23 and Windsor 5/19 from the floor, leading to a 9-12 first quarter score.  We began to get our touch in the second (and Windsor’s faltered further) as we outscored them 15-7 to take a 24-19 half time lead.  The third quarter was a bit of a wash, both teams struggling to finish, ending in an 11-10 quarter.  It was the fourth quarter that saw our defense take over, forcing numerous turnovers and creating easier scoring opportunities on the run outs.  We outscored Windsor 25-12 in the fourth for the 60-41 win.  Jenny Wright finished with a game-high 14 points and 8 boards.  Andrea Priamo, was named Player of the Game, thanks to her double-double of 12 points (on 6 of 9 shooting) and 10 boards.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/2/13/WBB_0213162840.aspx?path=wbball

Up Next on the Road:

Saturday, February 20 @ Algoma  6pm

Up Next at Home:

Friday, February 26 vs. Ryerson  6pm

Saturday, February 27 vs. Toronto  6pm (Graduating Athlete Night)

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

We got back on track this weekend with wins over Guelph and Lakehead, outscoring our opponents in each of the 8 quarters.  With last week’s losses in Ottawa, we dropped to 12^th in the country – we’ll have to see what impact the two wins have this weekend.  Our league record is now 11-3, good enough for a first place tie in our division with Ryerson.

Queen’s 75 – Guelph 61

This game had a very sloppy start, for both teams, as we turned the ball over 7 times and Guelph turned it over 5 times.  Despite that, the pace allowed us to get up 19 shots, converting on only 6, but still managing a 16-13 lead.  Unfortunately, our ability to take care of the ball did not improve in the second quarter, coughing it up 8 times, but still managing to outscore Guelph 17-13 to build a 33-26 half-time lead.  Despite reducing our turnovers to just 2 in the third quarter, we could not create much separation from Guelph, only adding one point to our lead, 19-18.  It wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that we began to separate, eventually building a 15 point lead, while holding Guelph without a field goal for the last 2 minutes of the game.  We had a good spread in scoring with 5 players hitting double digits, two of whom had double-doubles.  Robyn Pearson led the way with 20 points (on 9 of 16 shooting) and 15 boards.  Emily Hazlett had 14 points and 8 assists, while Marianne Alarie continued her fine play with 13 points.  Abby Dixon chipped in with 11 points and 5 boards, while Jenny Wright had the other double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/2/5/WBB_v_Guelph.aspx?path=wbball

Queen’s 69 – Lakehead 51

Lakehead did a very good job of keeping us off balance in the first half of this game, using a variety of combination defenses (box & 1, matchup zone).  Our shooting percentage (21%) was not helping any either, but the pace of the game allowed us to get up 28 shots in the first quarter, and a 15-11 opening quarter lead.  The second quarter was not any prettier, as we committed 6 turnovers and shot 31% to outscore Lakehead 15-12 for a 30-23 halftime lead.  We made significant improvements in the second half, and began to pull apart their defenses, outscoring them, 20-14 in the third and 19-14 in the fourth, shooting 42% and 43% respectively to finish with the 69-51 win.  Abby Dixon recorded a double-double, with 15 points and 11 boards, while Emily Hazlett almost matched her with 13 points and 9 boards.  Andrea Priamo finished with 11 points and 7 boards, while Robyn Pearson added another double-double to her belt, with 10 and 10.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/2/6/WBB_v_Lakehead.aspx?path=wbball

The Lakehead game also marked our “Shoot for the Cure”, Breast Cancer Research game, where 6 of our team members provided locks of their hair to make wigs for cancer patients.  Donations have topped their $5,000 goal, currently at $5,350.  Additionally, all of our players sold tickets to the game to raise another $375, bringing the total to $5,725.  Donations can still be made at:

 http://tinyurl.com/ShootforaCureQueens

Congratulations and thank you to team organizer, Andrea Priamo, and the 6 hair-donating volunteers: Marianne Alarie, Kat Holt, Maddie Morris, Megan Saftich, Chris Booker (team athletic trainer), and Stephanie Edmunds (team strength trainer).

NBA All-Star Weekend Update

Our game time on Saturday, February 13 against Windsor is at 4:30pm (was originally 4pm), and now there is a $5 discount available for students by:

For student tickets only:

1)            www.nbatickets.com

2)            Select Saturday, February 13, 2pm

3)            Select # of tickets

4)            Click “OUA Offer”

5)            Enter code: 5OFFOUA

Up Next at Home:

Friday, February 12 vs. Western  6pm

Up Next on the Road:

Saturday, February 13 vs. Windsor @ EnerCare Centre (NBA All-Star weekend – Toronto)

Saturday, February 20 @ Algoma  6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Our trip to the Nation’s Capital proved inhospitable at best.  Facing the 9^th ranked Ottawa GGs (we had dropped to 10^th) we lost a 2 point game, followed by a sound beating at the hands of Carleton by 16.  We are looking forward to playing at home this weekend (first time since November 21).

Queen’s 44 – Ottawa 46

As the score would indicate, this was not a pretty game.  Ottawa jumped on us right from the start building a 14 point lead six and a half minutes into the quarter.  We held them scoreless the rest of the quarter and managed 6 points of our own to cut the lead to 10-18 after the first.  We continued to chip away in the second quarter but could only muster 14 points, holding Ottawa to 10.  That left us down 24-28 at the half.  We had controlled the boards quite well, but surrendered 11 turnovers in the half.  The third quarter was much the same as the second, as we continued to chip away eventually taking a 1 point lead by the end of the third, 36-35.  We held the lead through most of the fourth quarter, but our shooting percentage abandoned us late in the quarter, finishing at only 14% in the second half and being outscored 8-11 in the final frame to lose 44-46.  Andrea Priamo had a very solid performance, recording a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.  Jenny Wright was 1 rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and 9 boards.  Robyn Pearson also hit double digits with 10 rebounds.

Queen’s 68 – Carleton 84

This was a case of a team that was very motivated and physically ready to play.  Carleton dominated us in all aspects of the game from the opening tip …… and shot the ball extremely well.  They had built a double digit lead very quickly, holding us to only 4 points mid-way through the quarter, en route to a 12-25 first quarter thrashing.  We settled and matched their physicality a little better in the second quarter, but Carleton was able to increase their lead by 2, 28-43, shooting 50% from the 3-point line and 53% overall.  We were unable to regroup at half, and suffered through the third quarter being dominated on the boards and surrendering another 20 points to our 11.  With the game well out of reach, we were able to convert a little better in the fourth, outscoring Carleton 29-21, to finish with the 68-84 loss.  Marianne Alarie led the way with 17 points, while Andrea Priamo added 15.  Sarah Saftich finished with 10 points.

NBA All-Star Weekend Update

Our game time on Saturday, February 13 against Windsor has changed slightly to a 4:30pm tip-off (was originally 4pm), and now there is a $5 discount available for students by:

For student tickets only:

1)            www.nbatickets.com

2)            Select Saturday, February 13, 2pm

3)            Select # of tickets

4)            Click “OUA Offer”

5)            Enter code: 5OFFOUA

Shoot for the Cure – Breast Cancer Research Update (over $4,000 raised to date)

Third year forward, Andrea Priamo, has taken the lead again this year in our Shoot for the Cure, Breast Cancer awareness game scheduled for Saturday, February 6 at 6pm against Lakehead University.  Six other team members will be cutting their hair following our game to donate for the purpose of making wigs for cancer patients.  If you would like to make a donation please click on the following link:  http://tinyurl.com/ShootforaCureQueens

You can donate to an individual or to the Team (which will be equally divided amongst the 6) – since they have a little friendly competition going on!

Up Next at Home:

Friday, February 5 vs. Guelph  6pm

Saturday, February 6 vs. Lakehead  6pm (Shoot for the Cure game)

Friday, February 12 vs. Western  6pm

Up Next on the Road:

Saturday, February 13 vs. Windsor @ EnerCare Centre  4:30pm (NBA All-Star Centre Court Event)

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Just one game to report on this weekend; a win over York 87-75.  Also, would like to mention that Robyn Pearson was named Queen’s, OUA, and CIS Athlete of the Week last week for her outstanding performances against Toronto and Laurentian.  We moved to the #9 spot in last week’s Top 10 poll, and remain atop our division with a 9-1 record.

Queen’s 87 – York 75

This game did not go as planned (despite the final outcome), as we were very flat and uninspired from the opening tip.  In contrast, York came out firing on all cylinders, shooting 58% to our 29% in the opening quarter, building a 12 point lead at one point.  After 10 minutes we found ourselves trailing 14-24. We made some improvements in the second quarter with our shooting (bumping up to 33%), but turned over the ball 6 times.  We cut the deficit to 5 by half with an 18-13 quarter, to trail 32-37.  Our shooting continued to improve in the third quarter (39%), but our defense continued to struggle with York still converting on 46% of their shots.  We finished the quarter with 22 points to York’s 21.  Entering the fourth quarter trailing 54-58, we came out blistering from the opening possession on route to a 33 point outburst, shooting 67% from the floor and 78% from the free throw line and only turning the ball over twice.  York dropped 17 in the quarter to make the final 87-75.  We had an unbelievable 7 players in double digits in scoring (first I can recall in my coaching career).  Robyn Pearson continued her stellar play with 15 points (5 of 6 from the floor & 5 of 5 from the line) and 8 rebounds, 2 assists.  Jenny Wright finished with 13 to move her into sole possession of 2^nd place in the Queen’s all-time scoring list (1,068 points), while Marianne Alarie finished with 12 points.  Andrea Priamo and rookie post, Myriam Fontaine each had 11 (Myriam’s first double digit performance), while Abby Dixon and Emily Hazlett, rounded out the scoring, each with 10 points, 5 and 2 assists respectively.

Third year forward, Andrea Priamo, has taken the lead again this year in our Shoot for the Cure, Breast Cancer awareness game scheduled for Saturday, February 6 at 6pm against Lakehead University.  Six other team members will be cutting their hair following our game to donate for the purpose of making wigs for cancer patients.  If you would like to make a donation please click on the following link:  http://tinyurl.com/ShootforaCureQueens
You can donate to an individual or to the Team (which will be equally divided amongst the 6) – since they have a little friendly competition going on!
 
NBAtickets.com is the place to go for our league game against Windsor being played at the Enercare Centre in Toronto as part of the NBA All-Star weekend.  We are part of the “Centre-Court” festivities in the afternoon session (2pm on the website) on Saturday, February 13^th, with game slated for 4:00pm.
 
Up Next on the Road:
Friday, January 29 @ Ottawa 6pm

Saturday, January 30 @ Carleton 6pm
 
Up Next at Home (finally):

Friday, February 5 vs. Guelph  6pm
Saturday, February 6 vs. Lakehead  6pm (Shoot for the Cure game)
 
Lastly, if you can’t make it to a game, please follow us on OUA.TV, as all of our league games are streamed live on this site.  We are also on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/Queens-University-Womens-Basketball-410735072319684/
 
Have a great week!
 
Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

After going 47 days without a game (November 28), it took a little while to get back to form, but we managed to win both games on the weekend, beating Toronto 57-33 and Ryerson 80-74 to capture sole possession of first place in our division with an 8-1 record.

Queen’s 57 – Toronto 33

It took a while to get comfortable with our movements in this one.  We were a little sloppy with the ball, 4 turnovers, and struggled to finish, shooting only 23.5% in the first quarter to lead 12-7.  We continued to struggle handling the ball (6 turnovers), but our shooting improved to 40% in the second quarter to take a 27-20 half time lead.  The third quarter was a repeat of the first, with our shooting percentage dropping to 21%, while our defence and rebounding kept us in the game.  We led 38-29 after 3.  Finally in the fourth quarter, we started to get untracked, primarily because of our defense.  We forced a number of turnovers, leading to run-outs and high percentage shots.  We outscored Toronto 19-4 in the final frame to win 57-33.  Robyn Pearson had a monster game grabbing 20 rebounds to go along with her 11 points.   Abby Dixon had 13 points and 5 boards, while Jenny Wright added a double-double of her own with 12 points and 10 boards. 

Queen’s 80 – Ryerson 74

This was a battle between two nationally ranked teams (Q’s 10, Ryerson 2) and a battle for first place in the East Division.  Scoring was not a problem in this game, it was more a question of who could get stops when needed, but more importantly, who controlled the boards.  Ryerson came into the contest as the number 1 rebounding team in the country, but we have Robyn Pearson, the number 1 rebounder in the country.  Both teams opened with good pace leading to a 19-18 first quarter, with us holding the slight edge.   Our shooting was fine (50%), but we had 6 turnovers in the quarter.  It was the second quarter where we inflicted the most damage.  Committing only 1 turnover, while forcing 10 (with our changing defenses – props to Olympic coaches Allison & Mike McNeill), we outscored Ryerson 22-10 to lead 41-28 at the half.  Ryerson grabbed 2 of those points back in the third quarter, 19-21, before heading into the fourth.  We stretched our lead in the fourth, before Ryerson clawed their way back, in what would become a bizarre finish.  They got to within 4 points, primarily on foul shots, when there was confusion on a call, first reported to be against Ryerson, then changed to be against Jenny Wright of Q’s – her 5^th.  Jenny was forced to the bench, although was nowhere near the play when the foul was called.  After the Ryerson player shot 1 foul shot, further discussion ensued about the foul, and a change in the call occurred.  They assessed the foul to Andrea Priamo, instead of Jenny, and allowed Jenny to return to the game – then awarded the Ryerson player 2 more foul shots (because of the delay).  Fortunately, she missed the shots and we secured the ball.  Eventually, Andrea Priamo hit two foul shots to preserve the 6 point win.  Five players hit double digits in scoring with Jenny Wright leading the way with 20, followed by Robyn Pearson with another double-double, 14 points & 12 rebounds.  Emily Hazlett finished with 12 points and 6 assists, while Andrea Priamo had 12 points and 5 boards.  Marianna Alarie added 10 points and 4 boards of her own from the guard position.  We also out-rebounded Ryerson 47-43.   Also of note, Jenny Wright has now scored 1,055 points in her career and is now tied for second place (with Kingston-native and childhood friend, Liz Boag) in the all-time scoring race.  Brittany Moore (current scrimmage partner for the team) sits comfortably in first place with 1,652 points.

With the Harlem Globetrotters coming to town again, our local (CKWS) television broadcaster, Bill Welychka, has enlisted the help of our players in preparing him to play against the Globetrotters.  There will be some live filming going on today, along with some interviews with our players and Globetrotter, Zeus.  It should be a lot of fun for the players.
 
Third year forward, Andrea Priamo, has taken the lead again this year in our Shoot for the Cure, Breast Cancer awareness game scheduled for Saturday, February 6 at 6pm against Lakehead University.  Six other team members will be cutting their hair following our game to donate for the purpose of making wigs for cancer patients.  If you would like to make a donation please click on the following link:  http://tinyurl.com/ShootforaCureQueens

You can donate to an individual or to the Team (which will be equally divided amongst the 6) – since they have a little friendly competition going on!

NBAtickets.com is the place to go for our league game against Windsor being played at the Enercare Centre in Toronto as part of the NBA All-Star weekend.  We are part of the “Centre-Court” festivities in the afternoon session (2pm on the website) on Saturday, February 13^th, with game slated for 4:00pm.

Up Next on the Road:

Saturday, January 23 @ York (1pm) NOTE: afternoon start time

Friday, January 29 @ Ottawa  6pm

Saturday, January 30 @ Carleton  6pm

Lastly, if you can’t make it to a game, please follow us on OUA.TV, as all of our league games are streamed live on this site.  We are also on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/Queens-University-Womens-Basketball-410735072319684/

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball Update

Hi Folks,

Happy New Year!

It’s been a long haul since our last game, so the players are very anxious to get the games this weekend in Toronto.  We did, however, have an excellent training camp with Olympic Coaches, Allison & Mike McNeill.  In addition to being brilliant coaches, they are also excellent teachers and our players (and coaches) were thrilled to have the learning opportunity.

With the NBA All Star weekend about a month away, tickets for our game against Windsor will go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday) at NBAtickets.com at 10:00am.  They have not released to us the ticket prices (sorry about that).  Please see our SID release for as much detail as has been provided to us by the NBA:

http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/1/11/WBB_0111160923.aspx?path=wbball

Our 2016 Alumni weekend dates have been announced:  October 14-16, 2016.  For the first time in a number of years, this date coincides with the University’s Homecoming Weekend, meaning this will be a very exciting a busy time.  We will be hosting our Tindall Tournament on the weekend, along with our Alumni game, and our Reception & Silent Auction.  This year we will be honouring our team members from the 2000-01 to 2004-05 teams.  Of course, Alumni from all years are invited to attend.

With the Harlem Globetrotters coming to town again, our local (CKWS) television broadcaster, Bill Welychka, has enlisted the help of our players in preparing him to play against the Globetrotters.  There will be some live filming going on next Monday, along with some interviews with our players and Globetrotter, Zeus.  It should be a lot of fun for the players.

Third year forward, Andrea Priamo, has taken the lead again this year in our Shoot for the Cure, Breast Cancer awareness game scheduled for Saturday, February 6 at 6pm against Lakehead University.  Andrea, along with 5 other team members will be cutting their hair following our game to donate for the purpose of making wigs for cancer patients.  If you would like to make a donation please click on the following link:  http://tinyurl.com/ShootforaCureQueens

And finally, Queen’s is once again the proud host of the JUEL & JUEL Prep League Championships, this year scheduled for the May 13-15, 2016 weekend.  The premiere girls basketball event in the country, 28 teams from across the province will be on-site for the 3-day event.  If anyone would like to volunteer for the weekend (scorers/timers/shot clock operators, event supervisors, etc.) please let me know – and event this size is not possible without the great support we have had from the community over the past two years.

Up Next on the Road:

Friday, January 15 @ U of Toronto  6pm

Saturday, January 16 @ Ryerson  6pm

Saturday, January 23 @ York  1pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

I thought I would send out a newsletter even though we have not played since the last issue.

After sitting in the 11^th spot in the National poll since it was first published in November, last week’s edition moved us into the Top 10 (albeit at the 10^th spot).  Here’s a re-cap of our fall league schedule:

W Q’s 64 – York 47

W Q’s 61 – Laurentian 51

W Q’s 71 – Nipissing 42

W Q’s 60 – McMaster 53

L Q’s 50 – Brock 69

W Q’s 64 – Laurier 61

W Q’s 84 – Waterloo 69

With that, we sit atop of the Eastern Division with a 6 – 1 record.  Ryerson has a game in hand, with a 5 – 1 record, followed by Toronto, 2 – 4 and York, 2 – 5.  The top 3 teams in each Division make the playoffs.

As mentioned in the previous newsletter, the NBA All-Star game is being hosted by the city of Toronto in February and our basketball team has been invited to be part of the weekend festivities.  We have moved our home league game with Windsor on Saturday, February 13^th to the Enercare Centre in Toronto, the venue for the NBA All-Star Fanfest.  Game time will be 4:00pm.  Please see the Q’s press release for further information:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/12/3/WBB_1203152546.aspx

We are still investigated the possibility of getting block tickets set aside and will update you when the information becomes available.

In other exciting news, our former Physical Education Centre (PEC), which was our home before building the Queen’s Centre which houses the Athletic & Recreation Centre (ARC), is getting a complete over haul.  As you may know, we opened and refurbished portions of the PEC a few years ago, mainly the 3 gymnasiums.  This has provided us with a total of 6 basketball courts between the ARC & the PEC.  The next phase of refurbishment (actually gut-job) will be on the lower level, where a new High Performance Training Facility will be built, including state of the art strength & conditioning equipment, aerobic, anaerobic and functional testing facilities, and many more aspects designed to train, test and educate our high performance athletes.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of our entire basketball family, to wish you and your family a very safe and enjoyable holiday season!

Cheers,

Dave.