KINGSTON, Ont. (February 9th, 2019) – The Queen's Women's Basketball Team (13-8) knocked off the No.8 Carleton Ravens (16-5) 74-70 on seniors night Saturday at the ARC – Main Gym.
GRADUATING SENIORS
Queen's honoured their two graduating seniors after the game with a special presentation for both
Marianne Alarie and
Maddie Morris.
GAME FLOW
The Gaels came out looking motivated to do their seniors proud as they opened the game up on a 10-2 run which would set the tone for the remainder of the first quarter. Although the Ravens would settle into the game as the quarter went on, the Gaels were able to utilize their early advantage to guide themselves to the second quarter with a 22-14 lead. The Gaels were led in the first quarter by 5th-year senior
Marianne Alarie, who scored 11 of the Gaels 22 points.
Queen's lost their shooting touch to start the second quarter, allowing an 8-2 Ravens scoring run which brought the game to within a basket. Although the Gaels composed themselves as the quarter went on, the second place OUA east Ravens took advantage of their early quarter momentum and established the narrowest of leads at 34-33 just as time was expiring to end the half.
Leading the way for the Gaels in the first half was
Marianne Alarie with 11 points and
Sophie de Goede with 10 rebounds.
The Gaels came out with renewed energy in the third quarter, doubling up the Ravens in the early stages on a 14-7 run and re-establishing the lead by as many as seven points. Not wanting to be outdone, the Ravens would go on a run of their own late in the third, quickly erasing the Gaels advantage and trailing by just one to Queen's heading to the final quarter at 55-54.
In the final quarter, the Gaels and Ravens traded shots back and forth, keeping the score within a basket of each other for the opening eight minutes of the quarter. With under two minutes to play, the Gaels scored twice in quick succession to secure a four-point lead at 71-67. Inside the final minute, the Ravens made an effort to claw back even with the Gaels, but two crucial foul calls against the Ravens secured a Gaels victory by a score of 74-70.
With the impressive victory, the Gaels took down the top-ranked OUA defensive unit and handed the Ravens only their third loss in the past 11 games. Leading the way for the Gaels was
Marianne Alarie with 21 points, while
Sophie de Goede showed up huge on the boards with 21 rebounds.
OUA PLAYOFFS
The Gaels are officially fourth in the OUA East despite a pair of games remaining on their schedule. They will host a home playoff game on February 20 at the Queen's ARC, all that is to be determined is the opponent.
MUST SEE MOMENTS
Lavergne with the block and bucket.
Donovan with the lay-in.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 – The Gaels limited the Ravens to just three three-point attempts.
9 – The Gaels turned the ball over just nine times.
21 - Rebounds for de Goede, topping her previous career-high mark of 13 earlier this season against Toronto.
FINAL SAY
Head Coach
Dave Wilson spoke on how the Gaels improved on last night's performance: "Turning the ball over just nine times was a key, and I think that's a good total against any team, but especially Carleton. We also made several crucial baskets at important moments, which is something we've struggled with against the top teams at times this season."
UP NEXT
Next weekend, the final weekend of the regular season, the Gaels head to Toronto to take on the Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday (Feb 15th) followed by the Ryerson Rams on Saturday (Feb 16th) both games set for 6 PM start times. Catch the action live on OUA.tv.
