KINGSTON, Ont. (November 1, 2019) - The No.5 Queens Gaels (2-1) fell to the Guelph Gryphons (1-0) 78-73 after a hard-fought game in the Gaels home opener. 

GAME FLOW
The Gaels got out of the gate slowly, trailing the Gryphons by six points in the opening minutes. Queen's began to pick up their after Michelle Istead scored a fast layup up to make the score only 8-4 for the Gryphons. Emma Ritcey was able to close the scoring gap to just three points after hitting free throws. Sarah Holmes on Guelph attempted a three-point shot but it missed and the Gaels caught the rebound and then turned it into a successful three-point jump shot by Julia Chadwick. Bridget Mulholland was able to score another three-pointer to finish the first quarter closely trailing behind the Gryphons at 20-18. 

The Gaels came out in the second quarter firing, scoring the first points. Queen's was able to achieve their first lead of the game after Ritcey sank a huge triple. The aggressive offence from Queen's forced Guelph into a timeout. Myriam Fontaine was able to sneak in two more points before the half, to end the second quarter with a score of 36-34 in favour of the Gaels. 

Bridget Mulholland started the third quarter off for the Gaels by securing an important defensive rebound and then turning this into a successful three-point jump shot. Istead blocked the Gryphons scoring opportunity and uses this momentum to draw a foul and score two successful free throws. Guelph responded with Ivana Adjudinovic scoring a three of her own as the game stayed close throughout the frame. A layup by Ritcey in the last seconds of the quarter put the Gaels ahead at 51-49 heading into the final frame. 

The fourth quarter started with the Gryphons tying the score up. Queen's was then able to come back with a steal by Ritcey that resulted in offensive points. The quarter continued with the lead switching multiple times until the Gryphons were able to secure a lead for nearly eight minutes. Queen's fought back, with Chadwick scoring a foul shot and Laura Donovan with a quick two points off of a fastbreak. Turnovers late in the game were the difference for the Gaels in the final minutes. Despite the great comeback effort, the Guelph Gryphons were still able to come out on top with the final score of  78-73. 

MUST SEE
Fontaine with the bucket

W🏀| A great dish to Fontaine who gives the Gaels a late first half lead! pic.twitter.com/S9x6Z5GNyV

— Queen's Gaels (@queensgaels) November 1, 2019

FINAL SAY
"We're going to come back and we know what we need to work on, to be more aggressive and talk together as a team and get where we need to go from here. We hate losing and we're very competitive so we're going to remember this and hopefully it gives us some motivation moving forward." - Emma Ritcey

BARNARD FILLS IN
Interim head coach James Bambury missed the majority of the game as he was on Wolfe Island and due to the inclement weather was unable to get back to Kingston due to the ferry service being interrupted.

W🏀 | With head coach James Bambury stuck on Wolfe Island due to the ferry service after the severe wind warning, Gaels assistant coach Nicole Barnard is making her U SPORTS head coaching debut today!! 👌 pic.twitter.com/JBafF2CJtJ

— Queen's Gaels (@queensgaels) November 1, 2019

BY THE NUMBERS
10 - Number of lead changes throughout the game
33 - Number of points scored by the Queen's bench
18 - Points scored by Gaels top player Emma Ritcey

UP NEXT
The Queen's Gaels will move on to face Ontario Tech this Sunday, November 3. The game is set to start at 1pm in Oshawa. This game can be live streamed anywhere on OUA.tv.