(15/02/25) - Kingston, ON. The final regular season match-up on the Queen's Athletic and Recreation court concluded with the score of 63-57, not in the favour of the Gaels Women's Basketbal team. Before the game, the Gaels took a moment to honour the graduating player no. 4 Bella Gaudet (Commerce) on the Gaels annual senior day. The Gaels walked on-to the court with a season record of 15-6 while their opponents, the Ottawa Gee-Gees, entered with a record of 18-3. The Gaels previously met the Gee-Gees on January 31, where the Gaels fell 53-60. With only seven players dressed this evening due to injuries, the Gaels struggled to find ways to out-play the Gee-Gees, although they never fell too far behind.  This is due to the teams leading point scorers for the game, no. 21 Brooke Hussey (Kinesiology) who put up an impressed 28, and no. 13 Mikayla McFarlane (Kinesiology) with 16. These two players dominated the court and made up for an absence in players against their rival. 

The game started with no. 0 Amy Hagman (Kinesiology) scoring two free-throws after a foul was called against the Gee-Gees. The Gaels showed true promise in the first quarter as the score switched ties six times as the Gaels matched the offensive pace of the Gee-Gees. Hussey scored 10 points on the quarter while Hagman and McFarlane led in rebounds. The first quarter finished with the Gaels down just by one, 19-18.

The second quarter began with good energy from the Gaels after a layup and free throw by McFarlane gave them the lead once more, 21-19.  The Gaels seemed to lose momentum as the Gee-Gees upped their pressure and had lots of luck at the hoop, freezing the Gaels for three minutes and bringing the score to 31-22. The Gaels were able to get out of this funk by forcing a foul and sending McFarlane to the line where she scored a free throw. The end of the second quarter saw the Gaels only finding four points on the scoreboard while the Gee-Gees found 17. Shutting down the Gaels, the Gee-Gees led 36-22. During this quarter, the Gaels led in rebounds although they just could not capitalize on their shots; the Gaels went 0-8 on three's attempted in the second. 

The second half of the game saw the Gaels come back in spirits as Hussey put up 11 points carrying the team offensively. With a three shot by Hussey, the Gaels came back within seven points of their opponents lead giving them a shift in momentum needed to maintain at a close deficit to the Gee-Gees. The third ended with the scoreboard showing 44-36 for the Gee-Gees.

The final quarter saw the Gaels put every ounce of energy into their play making up for absent bodies for relief on the bench. Hagman scores from the arch to bring the Gaels back within four points - the closest they had been since the beginning of the second. McFarlane led the quarter in points for the Gaels with 8 total on her 16 for the evening, in an attempt to take back the lead once again. The Gee-Gees kept a close pressure on the Gaels although the girls were able to put up 21 points in the final quarter. Ultimately, the Gaels could not find the final points they needed and fell to the Gee-Gees 63-57.

With playoffs beginning in the upcoming week, the Gaels currently sit as the seventh seed, and will host the Waterloo Warriors on Wednesday. As the Gaels have suffered injuries impacting their bench and starting lineup, it is hopeful that no. 12 Katrina Renon (Arts & Sciences) will return for Wednesdays game after resting this weekend. The full OUA playoffs bracket and game-time details will be announced within the coming days, so stay alert for the details as we attain them. You can watch the OUA Women's Basketball playoffs live anywhere on OUA.TV. Go Gaels Go!