KINGSTON, Ont. (November 24, 2017) - The Queen's Gaels (6-1) came away with a big 71-51 win at home against the No.5 nationally-ranked Windsor Lancers (5-2). Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.) was the hot shooter for Queen's with 23 points while the defence held Windsor to just 30.8% shooting from the floor.
 
GAME FLOW
Emma Ritcey (Orillia, Ont.) scored the first basket for the Gaels, off a beautiful floater. The Lancers were resilient in their defence early in the opening quarter, not allowing anything easy for the Gaels. Alarie found a crease in the defence and snuck in for an and-one opportunity. Sophie De Goede (Victoria, B.C.) looked to be all over the glass, racking up two rebounds in the first and scoring off her offensive rebound. After a Windsor timeout, the Lancers looked rejuvenated and hit a big 3-pointer. De Goede, would halt the run of the Lancers, adding two more points. Windsor got another triple and a layup to go making it an 8-0 run late in the first. The Gaels would not allow the Lancers to gather any more momentum, as Alarie and Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) knocked down a shot each. Veronika Lavergne (Ottawa) got one more layup to go to close the quarter, as the Gaels finished it holding the lead, 20-14.

Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) opened the quarter with a layup and was also playing some impressive defence on the other end. Windsor looked to have ample opportunity to score, but could not capitalize. Myriam Fontaine (Cornwall, Ont.) forced the Lancers into a timeout, after her put-back layup. The Gaels came out of the timeout with an impressive trap-defence, forcing the 8-second violation. Fontaine got on the board again, from a dish by Sarah Saftich (Markham, Ont). The Gaels finished the 1st half leading 38-24.

Priamo opened the 2nd half stuffing the paint and forcing a three-second violation. Windsor looked like it found its footing again, scoring two quick baskets early in the quarter but Alarie had the hot hand tonight, scoring a tough mid-range jumper to put the Gaels comfortably in front. Windsor was able to cut the lead to single digits however after a big three-pointer by Nyamouch Teny. Teny came up big again, with a mid-range jumper, to force Queen's to take a timeout.  The Gaels still held the lead to end the third quarter, with a score of 50-43.

Ritcey knocked down a three-pointer of her own to open the final quarter for the Gaels. The Tricolour responded to the late quarter attack by the Lancers, with stronger defence, not allowing any points early in the fourth. With six minutes left, the Gaels were on a  10-0 run, and what looked to be a comeback for the Lancers, was now looking less probable. Alarie added two more points, making it a 12-0 run with five minutes remaining. The result was Queen's coming away with a big victory as the final score for the night was Queen's 71 and Windsor 51.

BY THE NUMBERS
46.7%- The Gaels shot 46.7% from the field.
23- Marianne Alarie led the team in points, with 23 on the night.
11- Emma Ritcey led the team in assists, with 11 on the night.

FINAL SAY
"We felt that our pressure made it very difficult for them to get into their offence. They're an outstanding shooting team, so our goal was to get them out of that, and keep the pressure on them." - Head Coach Dave Wilson  

UP NEXT
The Gaels are at home against the Western Mustangs tomorrow night, November 25th at 6:00 pm. You can watch the action live on OUA.tv or grab tickets at www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets to check out the action at the ARC.