KINGSTON, Ont. (November 3, 2017) – The fourth quarter saw the Gaels (2-0) explode offensively to defeat the No. 5 McMaster Marauders (1-1) 90-79 in a comeback thriller. The win moves Queen's to 2-0 on the season.
 
GAME FLOW
McMaster came out hot, scoring three 3-pointers in the opening minutes of play. The Gaels countered by hitting the Marauders down low, with Veronika Lavergne (Ottawa), adding four points early in the first. McMaster kept rolling offensively, relentlessly driving into Gaels territory.

Slow to start, Queen's struggled to connect in the paint. Sarah Safitch (Markham, Ont.) was the spark-plug for the Tricolour, hitting on a big three in transition. Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) ended the first hitting seven points in the final minutes, but it wasn't enough to close the margin. Queen's entered the second down 13 points at 31-17.

Shooting on their side, McMaster got the second frame started with a 3-pointer followed by another one shortly after. Play in the paint seemed to be the name of the game for the Gaels who struggled early to get shots to drop. Priamo and Lavergne totaled 26 points from 14 attempts in the second. Dangerous from outside, the Marauders were able to drop field goal after field goal. Entering the half, Queen's trailed McMaster 51-36.

Kicking off the third, Lavergne was able to net four early points. Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, Ont.), the leading scorer last week against Lakehead, drove into the lane for an impressive lay-up, and got a key steal.  Priamo added two more to put the Gaels within 10.  Starting to roll, the Gaels offence seemed to finally click. Lavergne came to play in the third, putting up points for the Gaels down low. Rolling offensively, Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, B.C.) hit a big three, which forced the Marauders into a timeout. Closing in on the Marauders, the Gaels trailed by just five at 66-61 to close the third.

From there, Queen's ignited and took over in the last frame going on an 18-1 run. Lavergne scored the first basket for the Gaels in the final quarter, followed by Priamo sinking one from deep to tie the game up. In a groove, Alarie was unstoppable from the outside adding a pair of three-pointers to give the Gaels the lead for the first time in the game. Feeding off the energy of the charged home crowd, the Tricolour capitalized on rebounds and turnovers to pad their lead and finished the night with a 90-79 victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
19 - The Gaels were down by 19 points during the first quarter
29 - Veronika Lavergne lead the team in points, with 29
11 - Marianne Alarie scored 11 points in the 4^th quarter alone
13 - Queen's held the Marauders to just 13 points in the fourth quarter
+12 - The Gaels were +12 in rebounding on the night

FINAL SAY
"They shot the ball exceptionally well in the first half. We felt their shooting might cool in the second. We also gave them a different look in the second half, which gave them a little more trouble which gave us a little more confidence" - Head Coach Dave Wilson on the second half comeback.

UP NEXT
The Brock Badgers come to the ARC tomorrow night. Tip off is set for 6:00pm.