KINGSTON, Ont. (November 18, 2016) - The No.7 nationally ranked Gaels (3-0) defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks (3-1) 84-78 at the ARC in Kingston on Friday night as Queen's opened up the home portion of their schedule with a win.
GAME FLOW
In a battle of two undefeated teams so far this season it was the Gaels who got the jump on Laurier to start the action in Kingston. Queen's went off on an 11-0 run thanks to a pair of jumpers from
Emily Hazlett (Fredericton) put the Gaels in front early. This allowed the Queen's to roll their bench early and after the Golden Hawks got their first point of the game,
Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.) drained a three to give the Gaels their biggest lead of the frame 14-1.
Laurier responded and was able to put together a run of points of their own. The Golden Hawks got to the line pushing Queen's to respond defensively and then Irena Rynkiewicz opened up the floor with a pair of three-pointers. The Golden Hawks cut the Gaels lead to just three at 24-21 after the first.
The Golden Hawks continued to push Queen's into the second quarter. Down by just one point, Nicole Morrison hit a jumper to give Laurier their first lead of the game at 31-30 to come back from the 14-1 deficit to start. Led by strong defensive play on the glass from
Robyn Pearson (Toronto) and
Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont.), the Gaels were able to pull ahead 42-38 heading into the half. Both Pearson and Priamo had nine rebounds each at the break.
The two teams continued to go back and forth in the third quarter as the Gaels pushed their lead to no more than six in the frame, while Laurier took the lead on two occasions near the end of the quarter. The Gaels were able to even things up as Priamo netted a pair of free throws to make it 62-62 heading into the final frame.
Â
In the fourth quarter, the two teams continued to trade leads heading into the final minutes of the game. Hazlett found a wide-open
Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) in the corner for three that put the Gaels up 76-72. Another three pointer from Laurier got them to within one but after Hazlett secured another jump shot Alarie drove the baseline and got her shot to go plus the foul which she also made to make the game 83-77 Gaels. Queen's went on to take the victory 84-78.
FINAL SAY?
"We knew they were a good shooting team so our goal was to make them put the ball on the floor. They still managed to get some shots off but I think we stayed very composed and played together. We ended up grinding things out and getting the win. We've started the season well and know we are a team that others want to beat."Â -
Marianne Alarie
BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Queen's players with double-doubles as both Priamo and Pearson completed the feat
13 - Steals for Queen's compared to seven  for the Golden Hawks
23 - Turnovers for Laurier compared to just 13 for Queen's
50% - From the three point line for Laurier in the game
UP NEXT
The No.7 Gaels are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host the Waterloo Warriors at the ARC with a 2pm start time. For ticket information visit www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets or watch the game live on OUA.tv.
