KINGSTON, Ont. (January 27, 2017)- Myriam Fontaine tallied a team-high 14 points, and the Queen's Gaels women's basketball team cruised to a 96-46 victory over the Nipissing Lakers at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) on Friday evening.
 
Fontaine (Cornwall,Ont.) was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, while fellow sophomore Veronika Lavergne (Ottawa) tallied 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the U SPORTS No. 4 ranked Gaels, who improve to 13-0 on the season and inch one step closer to a first-round bye in the playoffs with six games remaining on the conference schedule.
 
Davanee Dewey was impressive in a losing cause for the Lakers, showing 7-of-10 for a game-high 18 points. Nipissing drops to 1-13 on the season.
 

MUST SEE - W?? @e_hazlett has the Gaels off and running vs @nulakers
Catch it live on https://t.co/9xTOznwjCF #GoGaelsGo pic.twitter.com/QHIaghmdkf

— #ChaGheill (@queensgaels) January 27, 2017

 
GAME FLOW
Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.) drained a three-pointer, pacing the hosts out to an 11-2 lead early in the opening quarter. In a rusty first quarter where the teams combined for 16 turnovers (10 of which came from the guests), rookie Bridgett Mulholland (Kingston) tallied four points to help the women build an 11-point lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
Four-straight points from Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B.) to open the second period prompted a timeout from Lakers coach Marg Jones. The Lakers continued to struggle offensively, however, in response to some aggressive defence from Queen's, who put together a 10-0 streak through the first five minutes of the second.
 
The Gaels continued to be efficient offensively, shooting a formidable 61.8% from the field in the first half to take a commanding 51-21 lead heading into the break. Hazlett and Pearson each picked up a team-high seven points through the first two quarters.
 
Queen's picked up where they left off in the third, scoring the first nine points of the quarter. The Lakers found more of a groove offensively, scoring 17 points in the quarter. The Gaels, however, maintained a comfortable lead heading into the fourth quarter, where they cruised to a 13th straight regular season win to remain the only undefeated squad in the nation.
 
FINAL SAY
"I thought there was a mix of good and bad tonight," said head coach Dave Wilson. "I was disappointed in the third quarter where we gave up 17 points. I thought we were sloppy on defence. Trying to stay focused in that game was one of our goals, and we didn't quite make it. The focus has to be on our own execution. In the first quarter we had six turnovers, then three in the second, and third we were back up to seven, so that's where the focus was lost."
 
"On the other hand, we did do some things well, we moved the ball pretty well, and have a good numbers of assists."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
54.1%- The Gaels shot a season-best 54.1% (40-74) from the field against Nipissing
14- Myriame Fontaine picked up a career-high 14 points on Friday night
59- The teams combined for 59 turnovers (38-Nipissing, 21-Queen's)

UP NEXT
The Gaels wrap up their weekend on Saturday evening when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs at the ARC. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. and the game can be seen live on OUA.tv. For ticket information visit www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets.