KINGSTON, Ont. (October 4, 2014) - The No.4 Gaels (4-1) claimed a 50-19 victory against the Western Mustangs (2-3) on Saturday night on Nixon Field in the final game of the regular season. The Gaels had big nights from
Lauren McEwen (Wasaga Beach, Ont.), who reached 101 points for this season with her try and four conversions, and
Gillian Pegg (Oro-Medonte, Ont.), who added three tries to the winning score.
The Gaels were fighting against strong winds in the first half, but didn't let it stunt their momentum as
Sydnee Nolan (Chatham, Ont.) put the first try on the board for the Gaels in the fifth minute, with McEwen completing the conversion to put Queen's up 7-0 early. The first try set in motion a cascade of three tries for the Gaels from
Karley Heyman (Harrowsmith, Ont.),
Emily Groper (Ottawa) and McEwen.
After a kick deep into the Gaels end, the Mustangs got their first offensive thrust of the game with Andrea Bowra putting down Western's first try, with a successful conversion by Breanne Nicholas. The Gaels were quick to respond with a lineout near the goal line, pushing
Gillian Pegg across to put down the final try of the half in injury time and giving Queen's a 29-7 lead.
The Gaels continued to pull away from the Mustangs in the second half, as
Gillian Pegg added two consecutive tries with successful conversions from McEwen.
Emma Chown (Barrie, Ont.) followed suit and scored the last try of the match for Queen's with Heyman kicking a successful conversion.
Western would not go down without a fight, with Lori Josephson and Nikki Case scoring two more tries for the Mustangs in the final minutes, putting the final score at 50-19 for the Gaels.
With the win, the Gaels will enter the playoffs in a good position to defend their OUA title.