KINGSTON, Ont. (February 11, 2017)- Marianne Alarie tallied a game-high 14 points, and the Queen's Gaels women's basketball team responded to its first loss of the season one night earlier by putting together a solid performance in defeating the Ottawa Gee-Gees 55-44.

The win puts the Gaels at 17-1 for the season which marks a program best milestone for wins in a season at 17.
 
Alarie added six rebounds and three steals, and Andrea Priamo totalled 12 points and nine rebounds in the win, while rookie Bridget Mulholland picked up a season-high 11 points, which included a critical pair of three-pointers late in the contest.
 
The No. 3 Gaels (17-1) responded well from their defeat by No. 5 Carleton, shooting 34.4% (22-64) against another tough defence in Ottawa, while limiting the Gee-Gees to just four free-throw attempts and one made three-point basket. The Gee-Gees (11-6) were led by a 13-point performance from Sarah Besselink, who was the only player to reach double-digits in a losing cause.
 
GAME FLOW
The Gaels jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes of the match, prompting a quick timeout from Ottawa coach Andy Sparks. Led by Andrea Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) and Veronica Lavergne (Ottawa), who picked up four points each in the post, Queen's took a 14-9 lead at the end of the first, capped off with a big rejection by Robyn Pearson (Toronto).
 
Alarie followed up a difficult floater with a three-point bucket to help the Gaels maintain their advantage in the first minutes of the second. After the Gee-Gees tied the game midway through the period, the Sudbury, Ont. native continued her offensive spurt, notching another bucket from distance before finishing off a well-executed fast-break transition.

The Gaels would go into the halftime break up 30-25.
 
The teams traded baskets in the first part of the third quarter, with the hosts continuing to maintain a small lead. Another big rejection by Pearson led to a three from rookie Emma Ritcey (Barrie, Ont.), and a sweet reverse lay-in from Priamo pushed the lead up to seven.
 
Ottawa responded with four-straight points of their own, pulling to within a single possession before Bridget Mulholland (Kingston) knocked in a well-earned bucket at the buzzer, restoring her team's five-point lead heading into the final quarter.
 
Mulholland forced a Gee-Gees turnover at the 5:40 mark of the fourth, and Pearson nailed a mid-range jumper soon after, giving the Gaels a seven-point advantage. Mulholland then hit back-to-back three's, giving Queen's its first double-digit advantage of the contest with under four minutes remaining, which was more than enough for the victory.
 
FINAL SAY
Head coach Dave Wilson was happier with his team's ball control one night after turnovers were a central issue against Carleton. "There were times I thought we were a bit sloppy, but for the most part I thought we did a pretty good job of taking are of the ball. Ottawa has a very tough defence, similar to Carleton's. It is hard to get good looks, and if you turn the ball over on top of that, it can be quite hard to score."
 
On pulling away late in the contest:
"I thought we wore them down a bit. We go pretty deep into our bench and by keeping the pace of play high, Ottawa had to expend a lot of energy, especially defending against our posts, which they did a great job of until we were able to wear them down late in the game."
 
On Bridget Mulholland, who picked up a career-high 11 points:
"We are just scratching the surface with Bridget, she is an amazing player that is going to take some time having missed a whole year with a concussion, but the talent and work ethic is there. We are very excited about how far she is going to go."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
5- The Gaels led by five points at the end of the first, second, and third quarters before pulling away with minutes remaining in the fourth
10- Alarie now has 10 games where she has scored 10 or more points
11- Mulholland's 11 points is a season high and the second time she has scored 10 or more points in conference play
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels end their regular season next Friday, February 17 when they host the York Lions at the ARC. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.