(14/02/25) - Kingston, ON., The Queen's Gaels Women's Basketball team fall short to the undefeated first-ranked Carleton Ravens 71-41 in second last game of regular season. The Gaels walked-on the court sustaining numerous impactful injuries to their bench with only seven players dressed to play. Although the Gaels have seen numerous injuries affecting their starting lineup, they stand third in the OUA East with the season record of 15-5 (now 15-6). With playoffs rounding the corner, the Gaels are guaranteed to play a preliminary game on Wednesday, February 19th. Their final game following this will determine their seed pairing. If unable to defeat the Ottawa Gee-gees - currently ranked second in the OUA East - then the Gaels will be the 10th seed paired with the second where they will revisit the court against Gee-gees who have proved to be a tough opponent throughout the season.
With a shift in starting line-up due to injuries which the team has adjusted to over the past few games, Gaels rookie no. 6
Vobia Kalome (Arts & Sciences) does not break under the pressure and led the Gaels in scoring with 6 points in the first quarter. The Raven's took off offensively quickly after the first ball toss, and secured a lead of 13 points over the Gaels. No. 13
Mikayla McFarlane (Kinesiology), who has been able to keep herself off the injured list so far, followed not far behind with 4 points in the quarter. The Gaels looked to the arch for a means to build momentum, although missed 4 of 5 attempted in the first. The Ravens apparently had other plans as they attempted only one three-pointer. The first quarter ended with the Ravens leading 24-11.
The second quarter allowed the Gaels to come within 9 points of the Ravens after a good fight by Kalome after scoring 5 more points on her night. The second was low scoring on both sides as the Gaels attempted to build some strategy of momentum against the Ravens. One aspect of play where the Ravens dominated was in rebounds, collecting 11 in the second and a total of 44 on the evening. The second period concluded with the Gaels trailing by a slim 35-26.
The Gaels could not produce a pace that would dominate the Ravens deep into the game, nor could they make a comeback offensively. The Ravens defense held strong in the third only allowing the Gaels to score 7 more points on the scoreboard. McFarlane kept a leadership role throughout the game and scored 4 more in the third. At the end of 30 minutes, the score amounted to 50-33 as the Ravens began to pull away from the Gaels deepening their lead going into the final quarter.
The fourth was no glimmer of hope for the Gaels as the Ravens' technique persisted through the final ten minutes. The Ravens collected 33 defensive-rebounds throughout the game compared to the Gaels 16, attacking any chance they could to progress their side of the scoreboard. The Gaels are sensing the absence of their leader in points and rebounds no. 12
Katrina Renon (Arts & Sciences) as she is out on the IL for the weekend after sustaining an injury the previous weekend. The Gaels hope to have her rested by Wednesday's game. Although the Gaels attempted nine more from the arch than the Ravens, their luck ran out this evening as only four were successful. The Raven's-Gaels mashup concluded with the final score of 71-41. The lead point scorers for the evening were Kalome with 11, McFalane with 10, and no. 0
Amy Hagman (Kinesiology)
With their final game of the season tomorrow evening, Februrary 15th at 4:00 PM, against the Ottawa Gee-gees, the Gaels will host their annual Seniors Night honouring the graduating players from the Women's Basketball team. Catch the Gaels live at the Queen's Athletic and Recreation Facility or live on OUA.TV.
