KINGSTON, Ont. (February 5, 2016)- Robyn Pearson picked up a double-double, and the Queen's Gaels women's basketball team returned to its winning ways on Friday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC), defeating the Guelph Gryphons 75-61.
 
Pearson led all players with a game-high 20 points, shooting an impressive 9-of-16 from the field, and tallying 15 rebounds to go along with two blocks and an assist. The Toronto native, who leads the CIS in rebounding, picked up her fifth double-double thus far in the regular season, helping the Gaels (10-3) break a two-game slide and maintain second place in the OUA East division.
 
Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B.) and Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.) added 14 and 13 points each in the victory, while Bridget Atkinson picked up 16 in a losing cause for the Gryphons (6-6), who drop to the .500 mark and remain third in the Central division.
 

MUST SEE - Pearson rebound, Hazlett assist on the Wright three! ??
Watch it live on https://t.co/9xTOznwjCF #GoGaels pic.twitter.com/ZgYQdZk7m7

— Queen's Gaels (@queensgaels) February 5, 2016

GAME FLOW
In an opening quarter in which both teams seemed a bit out of sync and combined for a total of 12 turnovers, Hazlett and Pearson each picked up four points to help the home side take a three-point lead through the first 10 minutes of the match.
 
The Gaels gave themselves lots of second-chance opportunities in the first, pulling down five offensive rebounds, but were unable to capitalize and take an early grip on the match. Atkinson picked up six of her team's 13 points in the first to help the visitors stay within striking distance.
 
After Hazlett hit a running floater a few steps in from the free throw-line, she found Jenny Wright (Kingston) for a corner three in transition following a Gryphon miss, pushing the host's lead up to six early in the second. Another shot from distance by Alarie minutes later put the Gaels up 26-19.
 
Guelph kept pace with the Gaels through the middle portion of the quarter, and a three by Abbey Clark brought the Gryphons within two points of the lead. Queen's turned up the offence, leading up to the halftime buzzer, however, draining the next seven points, which included Alarie's third basket from beyond the arc in the half.
 
A last-second lay-up from Atkinson broke the Gaels streak, but the home team still took a seven-point lead into the break, despite turning the ball over on 15 occasions.
 
Both teams came out of the locker rooms firing, each dropping seven points within the first three minutes of the third quarter. But after the Gaels picked up six-straight to give themselves a double-digit lead for the first time at the 3:30 mark of the period, Gryphons coach Christin Dickenson called timeout to talk things over.
 
The guests were able to slowly chip at the Queen's lead over the rest of the quarter, and a three from Katelyn Yallin with time running out cut the deficit back down to single digits heading into the fourth.
 
Another three from Yallin cut the lead down to five points early in the final stanza, but the Gaels continued to stymie the Gryphons' attempts to come within a single shot of tying the match. The visitors persevered, dropping four-straight coming out of their timeout, which prompted a Gaels break.
 
The visitors climbed all the way back to within just three points of the lead, but that was as close as Guelph would get to evening the contest. Queen's picked up the next seven points, many of which came from the foul-line after the Gryphons found themselves in the penalty midway through the fourth.
 
The Gaels, who dominated the glass throughout the evening, pulling down 51 compared to 26 from Guelph, were able to add to their lead over the final minutes, to snap their two-game slide and move to 3-1 at the ARC.
 
FINAL SAY
"I'm happy we were able to really push the pace in the second half of play," said Head Coach Dave Wilson. "That was one of our goals was to really take advantage of their short bench, so we thought we could get running on them and get them tired. I'm a little disappointed with how we handled the basketball; way too many turnovers and playing very skiddish at the end of the game as the pressure came on. In a tighter game, that is going to cost us. We didn't make too many adjustments (at halftime) beyond having a bit more of a balance in terms of where we were moving the ball, it was really more of a mental issue."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
25- The difference in total rebounds between Queen's (51) and Guelph (26)
11- Robyn Pearson is averaging 11.5 rebounds per game, ranking her 1st in the CIS
7- Marianne Alarie now has 10 or more points in four of her past five games, and seven overall in the regular season
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels return to the ARC on Saturday for their Shoot for the Cure night, when they will host the Lakehead Thunderwolves. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.