Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

We wrapped up our pre-season exhibition play on the weekend with games in Montreal (UQAM) on Friday, and Ottawa (Ottawa U.) on Saturday.  Both were very physical, tough battles, leaving us with one win and one loss.  Our exhibition schedule has provided us with great competition, with a variety of styles of play.  Hopefully, this will help us be better prepared as we move into league play.  We have this weekend off and then open on the road the following week at York.

Queen’s 78 – UQAM 74

Our defense was severely lacking in the opening quarter of this game, as UQAM continually found ways to score in the paint.  In fact, they scored 23 points in the opening frame (to our 20), with all of the points scored from within the key (20) and from the foul line (3).  Sometimes I should be careful what I wish for, as we closed down the inside a little better in the second quarter, only to have them shoot 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, and outscore us 16-19 in the quarter to take a 36-42 lead at the half.  Rebounding at the half was pretty close to even, but that was about to change in the second half.  Although we only put up 14 points in the third quarter, we held UQAM to just 6.  With a two point lead, heading into the fourth, we managed to widen the gap to 8 points at one point, only to have UQAM bring it back to 4, but never any closer.  Offense for both teams got rolling in the fourth as we put up 28 points to UQAM’s 26, to finish with the 78-74 win.  We out-rebounded UQAM 56-35 in the game, which also helped us get to the foul line 30 times in the game (converting on 21).  Andrea Priamo had another outstanding game with a double-double, 15 points, 12 boards and 4 steals. Marianne Alarie finished with 14 points, Robyn Pearson 13, and Abby Dixon with 10.  Emily Hazlett had another fine showing at the point guard position, with 9 points and 7 assists.

Queen’s 52 – Ottawa 59

Well this was the usual slug-fest we have come to expect with a game with Ottawa.  It is not the prettiest of games to watch (relayed to me many times from those in attendance), but Ottawa’s highly disciplined defense makes it difficult to get good looks.  And when we got a decent look, often we rushed more than necessary.  All this to say, we only scored 5 points in the first quarter (1 Field goal, and 3 foul shots), and still we only trailed by 6.  The game continued to be a grind in the second quarter as we only managed 5 field goals (13 points) to Ottawa’s 4 field goals (16 points), but Ottawa converted on 8 of 12 foul shots.  This left us down 18-27 at the half.  Our scoring picked up a little more in the third quarter (16) to Ottawa’s 19 to trail 34-46.  We made a little run in the fourth quarter to cut into Ottawa’s lead, but only outscored them by 5 overall to leave us with the 52-59 loss.  Turnovers plagued us badly in the game (21), and poor 3pt. shooting (16.7%).  The only double digits we hit were in the Rebounding category, with Andrea Priamo grabbing 12 and Robyn Pearson 11.

Re-cap of our Pre-Season Games

Queen’s 93 – St. Lawrence 35

Queen’s 76 – Acadia 69

Queen’s 66 – Alberta 63

Queen’s 51 – Laval 65

Queen’s 85 – Thompson Rivers 57

Queen’s 73 – Concordia 65

Queen’s 60 – Carleton 67

Queen’s 78 – UQAM 74

Queen’s 52 – Ottawa 59

We will be hosting our annual ID/Training Camp in early December (Sunday the 4th) once again this year.  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 11 @ York  6pm (League opener)

Saturday, November 12 @ Guelph  6pm

Up Next at Home:

Friday, November 18 vs. Laurier  6pm

Saturday, November 19 vs. Waterloo  6pm

Have a great week (or two)!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Another very tough and relatively successful weekend in Ottawa, at the Carleton Invitational tournament, featuring Thompson Rivers (TRU), Concordia and Carleton.

Queen’s 85 – Thompson Rivers 57

We started a little slowly in this one – looking like we were trying to get a feel for the game and for Thompson Rivers’ style.  Mid-way through the quarter we started to get rolling, racking up 22 points in the frame.  TRU kept themselves in the game with their 3pt. shooing, going 4 of 6 to finish with 16 points.  Our defense tightened significantly in the second quarter and TRU went cold hitting on only 2 of 16 shots (0 of 6 from 3), while we hit on almost 69% of our shots to dominate the quarter, 24-4.  The game, now out of reach, levelled off in the third quarter, although we added to our 26 point lead by 4, 19-15.  TRU outscored us 20-22 in the fourth to finish out the game.  Three players finished in double figures, led by Marianne Alarie with 17 points, going 6 for 7 from the 2pt. line, 1 of 1 from the 3pt. line, grabbing 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in 17 minutes of play.  Abby Dixon finished with 15 points (on 7 of 12 shots), while Veronika Lavergne added 13 points and 9 boards.

Queen’s 73 – Concordia 65

This, as expected, was a very physical game against a very good ball club.  After scoring the first basket of the game, we never relinquished the lead, although we never managed a double digit lead either.  We shot 7 of 15 from the floor in the opening quarter, to Concordia’s 6 of 16, and also went 6 of 8 from the line to hold a 20-15 first quarter lead.  The second quarter was almost a repeat of the first, going 8 of 15 from the floor and growing our lead by 3, 18-15 to lead 38-30 at the half.  This proved to be the margin of victory as the next two quarters couldn’t have been more evenly matched: 18-18 in the third and 17-17 in the fourth to finish with the 73-65 win.  By quarter, our shooting % was: 46.7%, 53.3%, 45.5% and 47.5% -- probably the most whole-game consistency I can recall.  Again, three players finished in double digits, with Marianne Alarie having another outstanding game.  She finished with 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting.  Robyn Pearson finished with 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting and grabbed 9 boards.  Emily Hazlett was the engine behind our offence scoring 10 points, grabbing 5 boards and 3 assists.

Queen’s 60 – Carleton 67

This was the usual, tough, grind-out style of game we expect when playing Carleton.  Despite shooting 47% in the opening quarter, it was the in-close misses that prevented us from building a substantial lead.  We finished up 2 at the quarter 17-15.  Things bogged down in the second quarter, with neither team able to make a run, finishing 12-12.  Carleton began to pull away in the third quarter, before we tightened up late in the quarter to end up down 3, 42-45 heading into the fourth.  Once again, Carleton began to open a lead (as much as 11 points) before we closed the gap once again to 4.  Foul shots stretched the deficit back to 7, 60-67.  Carleton’s shooting % improved in the second half (47%), while ours fell to 30%.  Andrea Priamo finished with 11 points and 6 boards, while Abby Dixon and Emily Hazlett each added 10 points.

Up Next on the Road:

Friday, October 28 @ University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM)  6pm

Saturday, October 29 vs. Ottawa U (game at Ashbury College in Ottawa)  2pm

Friday, November 11 @ York  6pm (league opener)

Saturday, November 12 @ Guelph  6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

For our Canadian readers, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend (our American readers can look forward to Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks).

I am very pleased to announce that Emily Hazlett has been awarded the Catherine Gertrude (Milliken) Smith Scholarship for this season.  Established in March 2007 by Sherwood H. Smith, Jr. of Raleigh, North Carolina, in memory of his mother Catherine Gertrude (Milliken) Smith, B.A. 1924, who, while attending Queen's, played for and managed the varsity women's basketball team. Awarded to recognize academic achievement and athletic excellence to a student-athlete who is on the competition roster of the Gaels interuniversity women's basketball team.  Emily, a fifth year Kinesiology student,  is the current Captain of the Gaels and starting point guard, having received recognition as an Academic All-Canadian last season.

We will be hosting our annual ID/Training Camp in early December (Sunday the 4^th) once again this year.  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 to 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.

Our Tindall Tournament/Homecoming/Alumni Weekend/Reception & Silent Auction are on tap for this weekend, beginning with our game on Friday at 6pm against Acadia University.  This will be followed by a reception with hot & cold hors d’oeuvres and cash bar at the Confederation Place Hotel on Ontario St. in downtown Kingston (approximately 8:00pm).

Important Information about the weekend:

Please register on-line for the event so we can plan for numbers (and you can receive a discount on game tickets):  https://advevents.queensu.ca/cgi/page.cgi?_id=3&action=viewdetail&event_id=2052

Alumni vs. Alumni game is open to ALL Alumni

We will be recognizing team members from 2000-01 to 2004-05 at the Reception Friday evening.  Jen Oliver (nee Bittner) has a Facebook page set up regarding the event. Please check it out at:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/queenswbballalumni/

All family and friends of Queen’s basketball are welcome and encouraged to attend the reception

$10 ticket for the Reception includes a drink ticket and appetizers (along with the opportunity to bid on the Silent Auction items).

A tournament pass can be purchased for the weekend for $20 - ONLY on our web site (instead of $10 per day at the door)

If anyone would like to donate something to our Silent Auction Table, please contact me directly.  Donations gratefully accepted as this is our major fundraising effort of the year.

Up Next at Home: Tindall Tournament

Friday, October 14

6:00pm Queen’s vs. Acadia  - Main Gym

8:00pm Alumni Reception/Silent Auction – Confederation Place Hotel (Ontario St.)

Saturday, October 15

12:00n Alumni vs. Alumni game/contests – Upper Gym (ARC)

6:00pm Queen’s vs. Alberta – Main Gym

Sunday, October 16

2:00pm Queen’s vs. Laval

Up Next on the Road: Carleton Tournament (Ottawa)

Friday, October 21 vs.  Thompson Rivers  6pm

Saturday, October 22 vs. Concordia  4pm

Sunday, October 23 vs. Carleton  2pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,
 
My first official Game Report of the season!  I should preface this by saying that when I write my game reports, I try to be honest and objective (as objective as I can be in a coaching role :)).  Some readers have commented on my writing surprised that it is not a little more “sugar-coated” when we play poorly or lose a game, etc.  Suffice it to say – “not my style.” 
 
Queen’s 55 – Abilene Christian University 85
The final score is certainly not very flattering, but also not indicative of the overall competitiveness of the game (at least for the first 3 quarters).  In fact, we started the game very well – particularly our shooting , going 7 for 13 in the opening frame.  After we opened up a 21-8 lead, Abilene scored the final 7 points of the quarter to close to 21-15.  It was Abilene’s turn to shoot well in the second quarter, converting 11 of their 18 attempts, outscoring us 25 -14 to lead 35-40 at the half.  The third quarter saw each team shoot in the mid to upper 30s (%) with Abilene increasing their lead by 3 (16-19).  Trailing by 8 points heading into the fourth quarter, the first few minutes of the quarter went by with neither team able to find the bottom of the net.  However, is was the final 7 minutes that saw Abilene shoot the lights out, while we continued to come up empty.  We were outscored 26-4 in the fourth, turning that 8 point deficit into an ugly 30 point loss. Rebounding and turnovers caused us the most grief, being outrebounded 28-46, along with 28 turnovers to Abilene’s 16.
 
Because of injuries, we were only able to dress 9 of our 15 players, but, we still had 3 players in double digits (Marianne Alarie with 14, Andrea Priamo and rookie, Emma Ritcey, each with 10), another player with 9 (Sarah Saftich), and another with 8 (Myriam Fontaine). 
 
We will be heading into Training Camp on August 28^th, in preparation for the season and our next exhibition play, September 28^th at St. Lawrence College, our cross-town competitors.
 
Our Alumni/Homecoming weekend follows that on the October 14-16 weekend.  We will be hosting our Tindall Tournament with Alberta, Laval and Acadia in attendance, along with our Alumni vs. Alumni game.  Our Reception to honour our team members from the 2000-01 to 2004-05 will follow our game on the Friday evening, complete with Silent Auction.  More details will be forthcoming, but it should be an incredibly exciting weekend, as the University will be celebrating its 175^th anniversary, and the official opening of our new George Richardson Stadium.
 
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
 
Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

Welcome to summer!

I have some incredible news to share:

Megan Saftich, Emily Hazlett, Sarah Saftich, Abby Dixon, Kat Holt, Marianne Alarie, Nicole Morse, Robyn Pearson & Jenny Wright all achieved the Academic All-Canadian standard (over 80% average).  Outstanding!

I am pleased to announce that Adriana Conti will be joining our basketball family.  A tough 5-9” combo-guard, Adriana is a former teammate of Myriam Fontaine at La Citadelle HS and on the Ottawa JUEL team.

We hosted the JUnior ELite (JUEL) championships in the middle of May.  Congratulations to Hamilton Transway as they beat the defending champions, Tri-County Thunder in a very exciting final.  Robyn Pearson was the keynote speaker at the JUEL Banquet delivering a very informative and impassioned speech which was very well received by the over 600 young female basketball players in attendance.   In conjunction with the JUEL Championships, we also hosted the OUA All-Star Game, featuring 3 Queen’s players: Jenny Wright, Robyn Pearson & Myriam Fontaine.

Our Elite Training & Scrimmage Camp is well underway, having sold out many weeks prior to its start.  It is a very skilled group that promises to provide exciting basketball in Kingston for years to come.  Up next are our ½ Basketball/ ½ Volleyball Camps starting up in early & mid-July for girls & boys entering Gr.2-5.  (The first week is already sold out). Registration for our end of summer Basketball Camp andBasketball Academy have already exceeded last year’s registrations and are nearing capacity.
Check out the camp details at:  http://rec.gogaelsgo.com/sports/2016/2/23/SummerCamp2016.aspx

Our basketball schedule is very near complete and is posted on our web site:www.queensbasketball.net
In addition to hosting the Tindall Tournament (with Alberta, Laval & Acadia), we will be travelling toCarleton’s Tournament, and to the Thunder Select Tournament in Halifax (Dec. 28-30).  We also have individual exhibition play scheduled at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) and Ottawa U (to be played at Ashbury College in Ottawa).  We have also added a late summer home game againstAbilene Christian University, a Division I school out of Texas on Tuesday, August 9^th at 7:00pm.

In conjunction with our Tindall Tournament (October 14-16) we will be hosting our annual Alumni Game, along with a Reception and Silent Auction.  While the Alumni Game is open to all alumni, we will be honouring the team members from the 2000-01 to 2004-05 teams, with keynote speakerJen Oliver (nee Bittner).  A tentative run-down of the weekend is as follows:
 

Friday, October 14
6:00pm Queen’s vs. Acadia
8:00pm Reception & Silent Auction – University Club

Saturday, October 15
12:00n Alumni Game
6:00pm Queen’s vs. Alberta
7:30pm Social activity tbd

Sunday, October 16
2:00pm Queen’s vs. Laval

Please click on the following to join a Facebook group created by Jen Oliver: https://www.facebook.com/groups/queenswbballalumni/

Enjoy!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

A quick update as we are working our way through a very busy Spring.

We just finished eight 2-hour practise sessions over the last four days with Canada’s Olympic Coaches, Allison and Mike McNeill.  The sessions were outstanding and will help set the course and tone for our team moving forward.  In addition to their extensive knowledge, Coaches Allison & Mike are excellent teachers and motivators.  Between our on-court practise sessions, Bob, James and I had the opportunity to sit and chat hoops for 3 hours each day with the McNeills  -- fantastic learning opportunity.

Out of the pan and into the fire – we are preparing to host the OUA All-Star Game this weekend in conjunction with the JUEL and JUEL-Prep Championships.   Jenny Wright, Robyn Pearson and Myriam Fontaine will be featured in the All-Star game set for Saturday, May 14 at 7:30pm in the Main Gym of the ARC.  Admission is free.  Last year the gym was packed for the game, creating a great atmosphere!

The JUEL Championships get underway on Friday (May 13) with games starting at 10am.  The banquet will be held Friday evening, with Robyn Pearson as a Keynote Speaker, before games resume on Saturday at 9am.  The Championship final is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30pm.  JUEL charges $6 per day or a $10 weekend pass.

Our basketball camp season is set to get underway later this month with the Elite Training & Scrimmage Camp first out of the blocks on May 26^th.  The very popular camp registered full prior to hitting May, with our other camps following in a similar vain.  In July we have two sessions of our Half Basketball/Half Volleyball Camps (girls & boys entering Grs. 2-5) and in August we have our Basketball Camp (Grs. 2-5) and Basketball Academy (Grs. 6-8).  September 10 marks our Jr. Girls Team Camp.  For details on all of our camps, please visit:  http://rec.gogaelsgo.com/sports/2016/2/23/SummerCamp2016.aspx

Updates on some exciting developments with the Alumni Weekend (October 14-16) will come in the next Newsletter.

That’s it for now.  Enjoy the rest of Spring!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

Time for a mid-Spring update. 

As mentioned in my previous newsletter, we are very excited to be having Veronika Lavergne  join us for next season.  Here is the link to her press release:

http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2016/4/7/basketball-w-6-4-post-lavergne-commits-to-gaels-basketball.aspx

We are busy preparing to host the JUEL & JUEL-Prep Championships on the May 13-15 weekend where 52 games will be played over the 3 days.  The JUnior ELite of Ontario is comprised of 14 teams (Gr. 11 & 12s) from across the province, with the same number of teams for the Prep division (Gr.9 & 10s).  We are still in need of scorers, timers or shot clock operators if anyone is interested in helping out – the calibre of basketball will by very high.

The OUA All-Star game is being played in conjunction with the JUEL Championships again this year.  The game will feature 3 Queen’s players:  Jenny Wright, Robyn Pearson and Myriam Fontaine and will be played on the Main court at Queen’s, with a 7:30pm tip off on Saturday, May 14.  Admission is free!

The Alumni Weekend is shaping up nicely – October 14-16 (also the University’s Homecoming Weekend).  We will be hosting our Alumni Game on the Saturday, followed by our Reception & Silent Auction, honouring team members from the 2000-01 to 2004-05 teams.  The Tindall tournament will feature teams that were all in the Top 10 this past season: Alberta, Laval, Acadia and, of course, Queen’s!

Lastly, the first of our Basketball Camps gets underway in late May – the Elite Training & Scrimmage Camp for female players entering Gr. 9 and those entering Grs. 10-12 (two divisions).  Both camps are near full.  Girls and Boys entering Grs.2-5 are well serviced with our Half Basketball/Half Volleyball Camps in July (2 camps) and our Basketball Camp in mid-August.  The Basketball Academy (girls & boys divisions) follows the Basketball Camp in August.  Lastly, our Jr. Girls Team Camp is slated for the 10^th of September (coaches can contact me directly about the Team camp).  Please see the Sport Specific Camps section:

http://rec.gogaelsgo.com/sports/2016/2/23/SummerCamp2016.aspx

That’s it for now.

Cheers,

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

Spring has sprung (and sputtered again) in this neck of the woods, with lots of things on which to report. 

Thanks to the generosity of Robyn Pearson’s parents, our team was treated to another Toronto Raptor game (against Charlotte) at the Air Canada centre.  The team enjoyed the comfort (and luxury) of a Corporate Suite, with full food and beverage service, as the Raptors pulled out a late win over the Hornets.

Speaking of Robyn Pearson, I am very pleased to report that the graduating Commerce student has signed on to return to Queen’s for next season.  The OUA 1^st team All-Star and Canada’s leading rebounder did not want to pass up the opportunity to return for her fifth and final season and would like to take a few extra courses to further her gifted talents in the videography world.  She returns with high expectations and goals: to help lead our team to the National title!

Our athletic banquet (Colour Awards) was held last Wednesday with a very nice dinner affair.  Our team awards were handed out, including: Myriam Fontaine was named Rookie of the Year after her season which saw tremendous growth from the fall through the winter season.  Emily Hazlett received the Coach’s Award for her all around leadership and play.  She was really the spark plug to our team, both offensively and defensively.  Jenny Wright captured the MVP award for her stellar play and leadership.  The 4-time All-Star finished her career as the 2^nd all-time leading scorer in Queen’s history.

As I alluded to in my last newsletter, we were in the midst of something big, very big, that we needed to get some paperwork completed, before going public.  The paperwork is now in order and I am thrilled to announce that Veronika Lavergne will be joining our team starting with the 2016-17 season.  You may recall, Vee, a 6’4” post player, was a highly sought after recruit out of St. Peter’s High School in Orleans, graduating in 2015.  She was part of our pre-season ID/training camp the summer prior to her graduation (along with current players, Kat Holt & Myriam Fontaine), but was lured away by a Division I scholarship to the States.  After experiencing some good success as a rookie, Vee found the camaraderie she experienced at Queen’s was significant enough to reconsider her university choice --  a decision we were more than happy to accommodate!  A press release will be issued in the coming weeks – stay tuned to www.queensbasketball.net for the release.

That’s it for now, but there are lots of things in the works.  I’ll be back in touch in the not-too-distant future.

All the best.

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

I thought I would send out a Newsletter as a number of things are on the horizon and a quick look back at the season.

Highlights of the 2015-16 season

August

* Trip to Barcelona, Spain in August – played 2 games against professional teams – spent 9 days touring the city

September

*Weekend Team Retreat at a cottage in the Thousand Islands – great team building

October

*Won the Tindall Tournament beating Carleton, Memorial and UQAM

November

*Went 6-1 in League Play

December

*Held a team training camp with Canadian Olympic Coaches, Allison & Mike McNeill

February

*Raised almost $6,000 for Breast Cancer Research (Shoot for the Cure game)

*Participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto – beating Windsor 60-41

OUA All-Stars Announced

I am very pleased to announce that Jenny Wright and Robyn Pearson were selected as 1^st Team OUA All-Stars, and that Myriam Fontaine was selected to the OUA All-Rookie Team.  This is Jenny’s third consecutive selection to the 1^st Team All-Stars, after being select to the All-Rookie team in her first year.  Robyn finished the season leading the country in rebounding.  Myriam’s game grew dramatically over the course of the year, increasing her minutes from 7/game in the fall to over 15/game in the second half of the season.

Speaking of All-Stars, Queen’s standout, Gemma Bullard (2013-14 OUA All-Star), will be making her return to the team for the 2016-17 season.  Having successfully navigated surgery on her wrist this past season, she is already working hard in the weight room and anxious to get back on the court.  Her talent and maturity will have an instant positive impact on the team.

Stayed tuned for another exciting player announcement coming shortly.  Just need to get the (i)s dotted and the (t)s crossed.

Spring/Summer Camps

We will be offering our usual array of basketball camps again this summer as follows:

Elite Training & Scrimmage (for girls entering Gr. 9, 10, 11, 12 in September)

May 26 – July 28 (Thursday evenings from 7 – 9pm)

½ Basketball ½ Volleyball Camp (for girls & boys entering Gr. 2, 3, 4, 5)

July 4 – 8 (Week 1) (8:30-4:30 daily)

July 18 – 22 (Week 2) (8:30-4:30 daily)

Basketball Camp (for girls & boys entering Gr. 2, 3, 4, 5)

August 15 – 19 (8:30-4:30 daily)

Basketball Academy (for girls & boys {separate} entering Gr. 6, 7, 8)

August 22-26 (8:30-4:30 daily)

For details on these camps and how to register, please visit:

http://rec.gogaelsgo.com/sports/2016/2/23/SummerCamp2016.aspx

We will also be holding our Junior Girls Team Camp on Saturday, September 10^th.  Interested teams should contact me directly.

Cheers,

Dave.

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.