KINGSTON, Ont (November 29, 2017) - The Gaels (8-1) put on a show with a 71-60 victory over the York Lions (4-6) in front of a special School-Day crowd comprised of 1,800 elementary students from 26 schools across Kingston.

GAME FLOW
Emma Ritcey (Orillia, Ont), opened the game up with a wide-open floater to put the Gaels on the board first. Veronika Lavergne (Ottawa, Ont), added 2-more points from the paint. Feeding off the rowdy crowd, Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont) knocked down a second chance bucket.

York would retaliate with an and-1 to keep the game close. Neither team able to get a stop on defense, the Lions would take the lead off a 6-0 run.

Gaels rookie Sophie De Goede (Victoria, B.C.) ended the run of the Lions, nailing a put-back jumper. A late quarter charge saw the Tricolour begin to close the gap, but a buzzer-beater 3-pointer made it a 7-point deficit for the Gaels by the end of the first quarter.

Coming out strong in the second frame, Lavergne opened the quarter with a layup. Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont), who struggled to score early, found the hoop off a quick layup. Not backing down, the Lions capitalized on the second-chance baskets to push the gap. The Gaels began to get grittier late in the second quarter, pushing to get to the free-throw line. Lavergne was 4-8 from the line in the final minutes before the half.  Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) added a 3-pointer to her stat-line to cut the deficit to 1, but York responded yet again with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer. Entering halftime, the Gaels trailed by four at 36-32.

The Tricolour were looking to find a rhythm in the second half, only shooting an uncharacteristic  27.3% in the first frame. Dixon put up another layup to kick off the third quarter. A big three off the hands of Ritcey would tie the game up.

Relentless in the paint, de Goede drove in to hit a clutch layup in traffic. Lavergne looked to be the focal-point of the Gaels offense, adding 2-more off an assist from Dixon. Another de Goede would make it a 10-0 run for Queen's, forcing York to take a timeout. The Gaels played hard man-to-man defense, to not allow York to get going offensively. Queen's outscored the Lions 23-13, taking the 55-49 lead coming into the final quarter.

A slow start in the fourth, the Gaels endured an 8-0 run from York with  seven minutes left. It would be second year guard Ritcey who would break the dry spell with a basket. Hot on offence, Dixon added 2-more points to retake the lead.

With an energetic School-Day home crowd, the Gaels looked to close the game on a high. Out of a timeout, Queen's played strong on defense and forced a turnover. Exchanging three-pointers from both sides, Sarah Safitch (Markham, Ont) would knock down a much-needed 3 coming down the court to make it a 3-possession lead with just over two minutes remaining. Clutch down-low, Lavergne would ultimately put the game out of reach for the Lions.

The final score for the game, Queen's 71, York 60.

BY THE NUMBERS
23 & 15 - Veronika Lavergne led the charge with 23 points and 15 rebounds
13 - Marianne Alarie and Abby Dixon combined for 13 steals
11 & 12 - Sophie de Goede recorded a double-double coming off the bench

UP NEXT
The Gaels are on the road to Guelph to take on the Gryphons on Friday December 1. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm. Watch the game live on OUA.tv.