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.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/10/22/WBB_v_Brock_EX.aspx?path=wbball

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.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/10/23/WBB_v_McMaster_EX.aspx?path=wbball

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.

Q’s SID Report:  http://gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/10/24/WBB_v_Guelph_EX.aspx?path=wbball

We will be holding our annual ID/Training Camp on Sunday, November 29^th.  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.

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 17^th 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:

http://gogaelsgo.com/sports/2011/8/19/WBB_0819114220.aspx?path=wbball

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.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

It has been a very busy end to our summer, hence this update is long overdue.

We assembled our team in mid-August for 4 days of training before hopping on a plane to Barcelona, Spain.  We had an outstanding trip, practicing most days and playing a couple of games against two different professional teams from the Spanish league.  We split the two games, finding both games tough and competitive.  Our hotel was in the heart of Barcelona, so we could walk everywhere.  We also added in some guided tours that were spectacular.  Robyn Pearson captured much of the trip in a short video she put together.  It can be viewed on our facebook page and at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPiILSErZLA&feature=youtu.be

We have added another exhibition game to our schedule.  Tuesday, October 13 at 6pm, Windsor will drop by for a game.  It should be a good one.  Our last encounter in Windsor ended up with an 81-89 loss. (Check our website:  www.queensbasketball.net for our schedule)

We have a very exciting press conference scheduled for this Thursday (Sept. 17) at 11:00am in the Alumni Lounge.  We will be introducing the newest extremely high level recruit for the 2016-17 season.  More details to follow.

Our Alumni Weekend, held in conjunction with the Tindall Tournament is all set for the October 16-18 weekend.  A reception and silent auction will be held in the Alumni Lounge following our 6:00pm game on Saturday (vs. Memorial)  where we will be honouring team members from the 1995-96 to 1999-2000 teams.  Wendy Moon and Jacqueline Butler (nee Beaudoin) will be on hand to speak on behalf of those teams.  All friends of Queen’s basketball can register for the event (and receive a discount on game tickets) at:  http://gogaelsgo.com/sports/2011/8/19/WBB_0819114220.aspx?path=wbball

Our annual Alumni vs. Alumni game will take place on Saturday at 1pm featuring players from all years.

You can also check out our facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Queens-University-Womens-Basketball/410735072319684?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal

I am very pleased to announce, Jenny Wright (5^th year nursing student) becomes the first two-time recipient of the prestigious Catherine Gertrude (Milliken) Smith Memorial Award.

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.  It is awarded to recognize academic achievement and athletic excellence to student-athletes on the competition roster of the Gaels interuniversity women's basketball team.

Lastly, our Athletic Department welcomed our newest addition, Sean Scott in mid-summer.  Sean fills the newly created position of Director of High Performance Sport, where he will focus on making our varsity teams compete for Provincial and National titles.  He comes to Queen’s from the Canadian “Own the Podium” government group, where he worked with Canadian athletes and teams to secure medals at the Olympics and World Championships.  This is just the latest in our push to become the best Athletics Program in Canada.

That’s it for now, but more to come shortly.

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

Time for a mid-summer update – let’s start with a quiz.  What do the following 10 players have in common?

Marianne Alarie

Liz Boag

Gemma Bullard

Abby Dixon

Emily Hazlett

Nicole Morse

Robyn Pearson

Andrea Priamo

Sarah Saftich

Jenny Wright

Answer – see bottom of this note.

Our summer basketball camps have gone very well.  All but our earliest camp have been sold out.  We have two camps left in August --- the Basketball Camp (Gr.2-5) is sold out, and we have just opened another section in the Basketball Academy (Gr. 6-8) running August 17-21 to accommodate the growing waiting list.

Our league schedule is up on our website (www.queensbasketball.net) and will have our exhibition schedule up as soon as possible.  To date, this is what our exhibition schedule looks like:

Thursday, August 27 10:30am (local time) @ Lima Horta (Spanish Pro Team champions) Barcelona

Friday, August 28 10:15am (local time) @ Sant Adriá (Spanish Pro Team) Barcelona

Monday, September 21 @ St. Lawrence College (Kingston) 6pm

Friday, October 2 @ Concordia University (Montreal) 8pm (following a men’s game)

Tindall Tournament

Friday, October 16 vs. UQAM 6pm

Saturday, October 17 vs. Memorial U. 6pm

Sunday, October 18 vs. Carleton U. 2pm

Thursday, October 22 @ Brock U. (St. Catharines) 6pm (time to be confirmed)

Friday, October 23 @ McMaster U. (Hamilton) 1pm

Saturday, October 24 @ Guelph U. (Guelph) 6pm

Saturday, January 9 vs. McGill 2pm (to be confirmed)

Also in conjunction with the Tindall Tournament will be our Alumni vs. Alumni game at 1:00pm on Saturday, October 17.  A reception and silent auction will be held in the ARC following our 6:00pm game where we will be honouring team members from the 1995-96 to 1999-2000 teams.  Wendy Moon will be on hand to speak on behalf of those teams.  All friends of Queen’s basketball can register for the event (and receive a discount on game tickets) at:  http://gogaelsgo.com/sports/2011/8/19/WBB_0819114220.aspx?path=wbball

You can also check out our facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Queens-University-Womens-Basketball/410735072319684?sk=timeline&ref=page_internal

Training Camp and our trip to Spain is less than a month away.  Players have been working hard on their strength and conditioning programs, as well as on court basketball skills.  We will be ready to compete in Spain.  We also have a number of tours planned in the region – I’m sure there will be plenty of photos posted on facebook in time.

Hope you are enjoying your summer.

All the best.

Dave.

	All 10 were recognized as Academic All-Canadians (over 80% average)

 

Answer:

This is an amazing accomplishment for any varsity athlete, but especially with the long basketball season ….. and to have 10 in one year is unprecedented!  No question our team environment has helped the student-athletes, who support each other both on and off the court.

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

A few things to catch you up on………

Our Colour Awards (Athletic Banquet) was held in late March, revealing some extraordinary accomplishments and accolades, namely:

1.       Our team awards were presented to:

a.       Marianne Alarie as the Rookie of the Year

b.      Gemma Bullard and Jenny Wright as co-recipients of the Coach’s Award

c.       Liz Boag as the team’s Most Valuable Player

2.       Kathryn Telford, our lead Student Trainer won the Hal Dunlop trophy as the university’s top student trainer.  Kat has been an integral part of our team for the past two seasons, and will be moving on to Chiropractic College this fall.

3.       Liz Boag received the PHE 55 Award as the Top Female Athlete in the University.  Liz is one of only a handful of athletes to capture the Alfie Pierce Award (as the Top Rookie) in her first year and then be awarded the PHE 55 in her fifth year.  Outstanding!

Two days after Colour Awards, our team headed to Toronto to catch the Raptors-Lakers game at the Air Canada Centre.  Courtesy of Robyn Pearson’s parents, the team was treated to a Skybox experience for the second year in a row (complete with food and beverages), and were invited down to floor level for the Raptors warm up.  Raptors commentator, Jack Armstrong, was kind enough to come over and chat with the players.

Our trip to Barcelona, Spain, scheduled for late August is starting to take shape. Still a number of tweaks to be made, but hopefully I can share the itinerary in the next newsletter.

Our Alumni Game and Reception (complete with Silent Auction) has been established for the fall, again in conjunction with our Tindall Tournament.  October 16-18 are the dates, with the Alumni Game to take place on Saturday, October 17, 2015.  We will be honouring team members from the 1995-96 to 1999-2000 teams.  Please put these dates on your calendar and I will follow up with more information in a later Newsletter.

We are gearing up to host the JUEL and JUEL-Prep Championships on May 8-10.  In addition, we are also hosting the OUA All-Star game as a feature on the Saturday evening (7pm tip time).  The All Star game will include Jenny Wright and Liz Boag.  Over the course of the weekend, we will have up to 5 gyms running at time – a huge undertaking.  Anyone wishing to help out would be welcomed with open arms – just drop me a note.

Lastly, we are heading into Summer Camp Season with our Thursday nights, Elite Training and Scrimmage the first to hit the floor, beginning May 28^th.  For a list of all our camps, please check out:  http://rec.gogaelsgo.com/sports/2015/2/18/CAMPS-KIDS_0218153233.aspx# (under Sport Specific Camps).

That’s it for now.

All the best.

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

A very disappointing performance against McMaster, left us with a 45-74 loss – our first double digit loss in league play this season.  Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net early in the game, going more than 3 minutes before the first score (by McMaster) and more than 5 minutes before we broke the ice.  We ended up shooting 5-20 in the first quarter (25%), managing only 12 points (equaled by Mac).  Then the game went askew – Mac shot 12-19 in the second quarter, while we shot 3-20, and were outscored 26-9.  We continued to be outscored in the third and fourth quarter, 17-11 and 19-13 respectively.  McMaster scored 19 points off our turnovers, and had 21 second chance points (dominating us on the boards).  Gemma Bullard was our lone player in double digits scoring with 11 points, while Robyn Pearson grabbed 12 boards.

Q’s SID Report:  http://www.gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/2/7/WBB_0207153844.aspx?path=wbball

We sit in second place in our division with a 9-6 record, only 1 game ahead of Toronto.  We host the first and second place teams in the Northern Division (Ottawa & Carleton), before completing the regular season on the road against Division rivals, Toronto & Ryerson.

With Saturday being our last regular season home game, we will be honouring our graduating athletes (Liz Boag, Gemma Bullard & Jenny Wright) immediately following our game against Ottawa.  At half time of that game, we will be honouring the parents of our entire team.

Up Next at Home:

Friday, February 13 vs. Carleton  6pm

Saturday, February 14 vs. Ottawa  6pm  (Graduating Athlete Night)

Up Next on the Road:

Friday, February 20 @ Ryerson  6pm

Saturday, February 21 @ Toronto  6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Just one game to report on this week; a win over York 66-56.  This marks our 5^th consecutive league win, running our record to 7-3.  It also marks the first league game where we had all of our players healthy as Gemma Bullard returned to the lineup, having been sidelined since the middle of October.

It was a game of quarters as we jumped out to an early lead – as big as 10 points – but York kept battling back.  We led 22-17 after the first.  Our offense was solid, but our defense was inconsistent.  York owned the second quarter as our shooting went cold (4/22), managing only 10 points to York’s 15, to leave us tied at 32 at the break.  Our third quarter was by far our best, going 11/22 from the floor while racking up 24 points and holding York to 8.  The fourth quarter was a repeat of the 2^nd with York cutting into our 16 point lead, but never really threatening the outcome.  Jenny Wright finished with 15 points and 7 boards, while Liz Boag has 12 points and 5 assists.   Andrea Priamo also had 12 points and 7 boards.

Q’s SID Report:  http://www.gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/1/17/WBB_0117152501.aspx?path=wbball


On a separate note, Emily Hazlett was named Queen’s Athlete of the Week last week for her outstanding performances against Nipissing and Laurentian.

A quick update on our Shoot for the Cure initiative.  Thanks to some recent donations, we have now pushed the total to over $4,000.  Thanks for making this such a successful venture.  Special thanks to Andrea Priamo, Gemma Bullard, Nicole Morse, Abby Dixon and Emily Hazlett for donating their hair for the making of wigs.

Up Next at Home:
Friday, January 23 vs. Toronto  6pm
Saturday, January 24 vs. Ryerson  6pm

Up Next on the Road:
Friday, January 30 @ Windsor  6pm
Saturday, January 31 @ Western  6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Another very successful league weekend as we beat Nipissing 90-34 and Laurentian 89-62 to move our league record to 6-3. Our defence was sloppy to open the game against Nipissing, allowing 13 first quarter points to a team that is averaging only 27 points per game.  We still led 19-13 after the first, but then tightened our defence in the second to surrender only 6 points to our 32.  Our defence caused the young Nipissing team to turn the ball over (34 times) allowing us some easy run out points and a shooting percentage topping 46%.  Jenny Wright finished with 15 points, while 3 players had 12.  Robyn Pearson had 8 boards to go along with her dozen; rookie Maddie Morris notched her career high; and Emily Hazlett also grabbed 7 boards.

We started the game very sharply on Saturday against Laurentian – the best first half of basketball I have seen from our team in a number of years.  Our defence completely smothered Laurentian, forcing bad shots, hurried shots, and many turnovers.  We outscored them 26-9 in the first quarter and 29-8 in the second quarter to lead 55-17 at the half.  Our focus was not as sharp in the second half as we rode the big lead into the 89-62 final.  Five players hit double digits in scoring: Liz Boag with 19, Emily Hazlett 17 (and 7 boards), Robyn Pearson 12 (and 9 boards), Andrea Priamo and rookie Marianne Alarie (a Sudbury native), each with 10.

Q’s SID Nipissing Report:  http://www.gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/1/9/WBB_0109152322.aspx?path=wbball

Q’s SID Laurentian Report:  http://www.gogaelsgo.com/news/2015/1/10/WBB_0110151224.aspx

The Nipissing game also marked our Shoot for the Cure initiative to help raise money and awareness of Breast Cancer.  Five players donated their hair for the purpose of making wigs for cancer survivors.  Andrea Priamo took the lead on this initiative and also raised the most amount of money.  In addition to Andrea, Abby Dixon, Emily Hazlett, Gemma Bullard, and Nicole Morse all donated their hair.  Thank you to all who donated: more than $3,800 was raised.  If you would like to donate, please visit:  http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?langPref=en-CA&TSID=529602

I am very pleased to announce that Gael Alumni, Claire Meadows has been named the next Head Coach of the University of British Columbia-Okanagan.  She will assume her new position following the completion of this season.  Claire was a Gael from 2002 to 2007 capturing many awards.  She was named the team’s Rookie of the Year in her first season, followed by the team’s Most Improved Player in year 2.  She was the team’s Defensive Player of the Year in her 3^rd season and followed that with consecutive team MVPs and OUA All-Star selections.  She finished her career as Queen’s second all-time leading scorer.  While working towards her Master’s Degree in Coaching in the summers, Claire interned as an assistant coach at Queen’s for the 2010-11 season.  The following year, she interned with the University of Alberta, before securing the Assistant Coach position at the University of Lethbridge in 2012.  Please see the UBC-O press release for further details:  https://news.ok.ubc.ca/athrec/2015/01/06/26500/

Up Next on the Road:

Saturday, January 17 @ York  6pm

Up Next at Home:

Friday, January 23 vs. Toronto  6pm

Saturday, January 23 vs. Ryerson  6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a great holiday break and were able to relax and enjoy time with family and friends.

We headed to Montreal for the Concordia tournament for 3 games, capturing only 1 win against 2 losses.  We beat Bishop’s 64-56, lost to Concordia 47-66 and to McMaster 48-75.  We are still not at full strength with Gemma Bullard & Gia Spiropoulos out of the line-up with concussions (and Emily Hazlett missing the last game of the tournament with a shoulder injury), but we are still struggling with our “finishing.”  We shot 34% vs. Bishop’s, but only 26% against Concordia and McMaster.  Our offensive execution was actually not bad (considering we had been off on holidays for a while), but our finishing and overall ball handling was questionable.  I am confident our scoring touch will return soon – we are too good a shooting team to be bogged down much longer.

SID game reports:  http://www.gogaelsgo.com/news/2014/12/28/WBB_1228144954.aspx?path=wbball

Shoot for the Cure – Breast Cancer Fundraiser game is this Friday, January 9^th against Nipissing.  Five of our players will be cutting their hair following our game and donating the locks for the making of wigs (Abby Dixon, Andrea Priamo, Emily Hazlett, Gemma Bullard, & Nicole Morse).  We are having a little contest (not that basketball players are competitive J) to see who can raise the most money – of course Breast Cancer Research is the ultimate winner.  If you would like to donate, please visit:  http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=582540&langPref=en-CA&Referrer=direct%2fnone

You can donate to an individual player or, if you wish to support all of them, you can donate to Queen’s and we will divide the donation equally amongst all 5 players.

I forgot to mention in my last Newsletter, that 2015 recruit, Myriam Fontaine, captured the Gold Medal at OFSAA in Cornwall in late November, leading the way with 16 points in the finals.  Congratulations to Myriam and her father, Steph, coach of the La Citadelle Patriotes.

Up Next at Home:

Friday, January 9 vs. Nipissing @ 6pm (Shoot for the Cure game)

Saturday, January 10 vs. Laurentian @ 6pm (Kingston Impact Day)

Up Next on the Road:

Saturday, January 17 @ York 6pm

Have a great week!

Dave.

Women's Basketball - Game Report

Hi Folks,

Despite playing short-handed (again) we managed two home wins during the week, beating York 73-38 and Algoma 72-38. Gemma Bullard, Gia Spiropoulos and Liz Boag all missed the games, while Emily Hazlett sat out almost the entire second half against Algoma after taking an elbow to the head.  Our defensive pressure was really the story in both games forcing York to cough the ball up 30 times and Algoma, 36 times.  Our shooting percentage against York still suffered (32%) from the floor but we had 24 more shots than York thanks to our offensive rebounding (22) and their turnovers.  Against Algoma, our shooting percentage was much better (41%) which is pushing closer to where we would like to be on the season.  With balanced scoring against York, our high scorer only recorded 12 points (Jenny Wright), with two others at 10 (Emily Hazlett & Abby Dixon).  Abby continued to find her range against Algoma, posting 20 points to go along with her 7 steals.  Jenny Wright added 11 points, with the rest of the scoring spread across almost the entire roster.

That ends our fall schedule with a league record of 4-3 (12-5 overall), with 12 league games scheduled for January/February. We spent the fall ranked in the Top 10 in Canada, but fell to #12 last week.  Not likely to climb back into the Top 10 this week, but stranger things have happened.

Hopefully, with the break now, we can see our sidelined players recover and return to full strength following the holiday break.  Time will tell.

Q’s SID reports:

http://www.gogaelsgo.com/index.aspx?path=wbball&tab=basketball(w)

http://www.gogaelsgo.com/index.aspx?path=wbball&tab=basketball(w)

We hosted our Annual ID/Training Camp on Saturday with 21 players attending (9 Grade 11s and 12 Grade 12s).  It was a very successful and busy day.  Thanks to all the players (and parents) for making the effort to attend.

Up Next on the Road:

Concordia Tournament

Sunday, December 28 tbd

Monday, December 29 tbd

Tuesday, December 30 vs. McMaster 12 noon

Have a great week!

Dave.