KINGSTON, Ont. (November 14, 2014) –
Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) led the No. 8 Gaels (1-1) to a 67-52 victory against Waterloo Warriors (1-3) in their OUA Home Opener Saturday evening at the ARC.
It was a big night for Wright who scored 20 points for the Gaels and grabbed seven rebounds. The Gaels had top performances from
Liz Boag (Kingston, Ont.) who contributed 12 points and
Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B.) who put up 10 points. The Warriors were led by Marti Killeen with eight points, seven rebounds and five turnovers as well as Amy Jarvais with seven points and five rebounds.
The Gaels had strong defence in the first half shutting down the Warriors attacks giving them the upper hand to grab an early eight point lead. The Warriors lost their edge in the first half thanks to committing twice as many turnovers at 12 compared to Queen's and their six. Despite Waterloo nearly matching them in shooting percentage, the Gaels were able to stay ahead of the Warriors by drawing fouls and sinking clutch shots at the end of both the first and second quarters to put Queen's ahead 33-22 at halftime. Wright managed to beat a defender and toss in a lay-up to close out the opening half.
The Gaels had a cascade of baskets as they opened up the second half getting a 16 point lead over the Warriors.
Robyn Pearson (Toronto) was a force on all fronts for the Gaels in the second half, grabbing eight rebounds and sinking seven points. As the quarter closed Waterloo picked up their offensive play, outshooting the Gaels by a 25% margin in the third to close the gap to 48-42 going into the final frame.
Boag lit up the final quarter, splitting the defense and leading the Gaels on a 15-2 run. The Warriors kept up the pressure but missed the mark on their shooting while the Gaels drove and drew fouls to reach the charity stripe in what totaled 20 more times than Waterloo. By the final buzzer the Gaels had solidified their first win of regular season beating the Warriors 67-52.
The Gaels will be back in action November 15 when they host Laurier at 8:00 pm in the ARC main gym.
