HAMILTON, Ont. (March 5, 2016)- The Queen's Gaels women's basketball team's 2015-16 season came to an end on Saturday afternoon at Burridge Gymnasium, where the women dropped a 65-55 decision to the CIS No. 8 ranked McMaster Marauders in the OUA quarter-finals.
 
GAME FLOW
Robyn Pearson (Toronto) led the Gaels with 16 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 7-of-13 from the field while tallying a game-high three blocks. Fifth-year senior Jenny Wright also tallied a double-double in the final post-secondary match of her career, picking up 14 points, 12 rebounds and three steals for Queen's, who struggled offensively throughout Saturday's match.
 
The women shot just under 30% from the field, about seven and a half points lower than their season average, hit just one three-pointer throughout the game, and were 10-of-17 from the foul-line. The Marauders, who were helped to an OUA Final Four berth by a 22 point performance from Danielle Boiago, also had trouble finding the basket, shooting nearly 10 points down from their usual efficiency at 30.6%.
 
After a back and forth first quarter where neither side was able to find a good flow offensively, a couple of late jumpers by the Marauders gave them the lead heading into the second period. The hosts would not give up the advantage from that point on, though the Gaels evened the game twice in the second before McMaster went on a 7-0 streak and took a 32-25 at halftime.
 
The Marauders maintained their lead through the third quarter, as the Gaels could muster just nine points in that period, and looked to have the match well in-hand after a three-point basket gave them a 15-point spread with 6:24 left in the fourth.
 
Queen's still had some gas left in the tank, however, and with their season on the line the women put together a stellar comeback bid over the next five minutes, capped off with an 11-0 run that included points from Wright (Kingston), Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.), and Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.). Alarie's jump-shot brought the Gaels to within just three points of the Marauders with 57 seconds remaining in regulation.
 
After McMaster hit both its free-throws, the Gaels turned the ball over, and were forced to foul again. Boiago would get put on the line three times in the final minute, and sunk all six of her attempts to help her team advance to next weekend's conference championship.
 
The Gaels finished the regular season with a 14-5 record, which was good enough for second in the OUA East, and were seeded fifth in the conference based on the RPI rankings to determine playoff positioning. They defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs in the OUA preliminary playoff round on Wednesday at the Athletics and Recreation Centre by a score of 70-44.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
22- Both squads hit 22 field-goals in Saturday's quarter-final match
49- The Gaels brought down 49 rebounds (19 offensively), compared to 43 from the Marauders
2- It was just the second time this season (regular season/playoffs) that the Gaels hit just a single three-point basket