Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams finished their weekend on the road with a Friday victory and a Saturday defeat.
On Friday the women’s team avenged a loss earlier in the season, earning a 68-66 victory against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The win solidified the team’s hold on a fourth-place playoff spot in the OUA East.
The Gaels opened strongly offensively, scoring 15 points to Ottawa’s six in the first quarter and leading 30-21 at halftime.
Queen’s entered the fourth quarter with a 52-40 lead. The Gaels faced a determined Ottawa offence, but managed to repel their efforts earning a narrow 68-66 victory.
The game saw rookie Brittany Moore score 16 points, with teammate Sarah Barnes earning seven.
Head coach Dave Wilson said the team does its best to get Moore open shots.
“Brittany is an outstanding three-point shooter,” he said. “We have some things we run to get her some good shots, and she makes the most of it.”
Saturday the women faced off against the Carleton Ravens. Early in the game the Gaels struggled offensively, scoring five points to the Ravens’ 20 in the first quarter. In a strong second-quarter effort, Queen’s closed the gap to 36-23.
The momentum continued as Queen’s scored 17 points and held Carleton to nine, making the score 45-40 entering the final frame. Facing intense offensive pressure from Carleton, Queen’s was unable to overtake their opponent, eventually losing the game 61-50.
Moore added 15 points on Saturday, giving her a total of 31 over the weekend. Forwards Sarah Barnes and Anne Murphy contributed eight points each during Saturday’s match.
The men’s game Friday night saw Queen’s earn a stunning 64-48 victory over the second-seeded University of Ottawa.
Gaels’ forward Mitch Leger scored 19 points during the match, with rookie teammate Jon Ogden adding fifteen points.
Coach Rob Smart said the crushing victory was a result of a cohesive team effort.
“We’re running our stuff pretty well,” said Smart. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are great shooters.”
After two quarters the Gaels held the lead 28-22, due to exceptional ing and strategic outside shooting.
“Overall we’ve got strong team defence,” Leger said. “They make it easy to score the baskets.”
The impressive defensive effort carried into the second half with Queen’s scoring 27 points to enter the final quarter 55-35.
The Gaels fell into a defensive stance, shutting down the Gee-Gees offence to finish the game victorious.
Against the undefeated Ravens on Saturday Queen’s faced stiffer competition as Carleton defeated the Gaels 76-63, dropping the Gaels’ record to 13-8.
The men started off strong, outscoring the Ravens in the first quarter only to face a rejuvenated Carleton offence that pulled ahead by three points by the end of the first half.
The Ravens started the third quarter strong, scoring 28 points to enter the last quarter with an 18-point lead. Queen’s played an excellent fourth quarter, narrowing Carleton’s lead to finish the game 64-48. Carleton improved their undefeated record to 21-0.
Guard Baris Ondul lead the Gaels with a game-high 17 points, while Leger scored 11.
“We didn’t play a great second half against Carleton,” Leger said. “But we’ve got some really tough defense and that’s what we’re going to need to win some playoff games.”
The Gaels are now locked into the fourth position in the OUA with a record of 13-8, and have one more regular season game against the Royal Military College Paladins. The game takes tomorrow night at Bartlett Gym at 6 p.m.
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