KINGSTON, Ont. (April 2, 2022) – The game came down to the wire with the Queen's Gaels falling just short, losing to the Winnipeg Wesmen 80-78 in the semifinals at the U SPORTS Women's Final 8 Basketball Championship.

The Gaels had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but Winnipeg held on for the two-point win.

Laura Donovan led the Gaels in scoring with 20 points, while Emma Ritcey added 19 points and Sophie de Goede finished with a double-double, recording 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Ritcey was named the Player of the Game for Queen's.

"I'm really proud of our team. We came in to this believing we could win and that didn't stop the whole game, even though we were down most of the game. We fought back and were right there, unfortunately it just didn't go our way."



The Gaels finished the game shooting 39.7 per cent from the floor and 44 per cent from three-point range, compared to 49.2 per cent from the floor and 38.5 per cent from three-point range for the Wesmen.

"The whole time we believed," said Head Coach Claire Meadows. "On Thursday we believed we could win the game and we won it, and we believed going into tonight that we could win this game and it showed on the floor. We just fell short to a great team."

The Gaels will return to the court Sunday at 3 p.m. to play for the U SPORTS Women's Final 8 Basketball Championship Bronze Medal against the Brock Badgers.