Women’s Basketball
The Women’s Basketball team battled hard this weekend but lost their 12-game win streak against the TMU Bold, 56-58 on Jan. 24. Hopefully their win against the Brock Badgers on Jan. 25, 63-59, is the start of a new streak.
It was an off night for the Gaels when they fell to the Bold on Jan. 24 at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC), going 6-25 from deep, an area where the Gaels have typically thrived this season.
The Gaels trailed for the entire game, having fallen behind by 6 points in the first quarter, they struggled to gain any momentum against the Bold that would give way to a comeback.
A 16-point burst from Katrina Renon, ArtSci ’27, in the fourth quarter brought Queen’s close. However, it proved insufficient to steal a game from the Bold, who are the top-ranked team in the OUA West.
Ultimately, the Gaels lost in a close-fought, 56-58 nailbiter, marking the end of a stellar win streak.
The Gaels returned to the ARC the following night, tipping off against the Brock Badgers, where they got back into the win column and beat the Badgers in the Shoot for the Cure game 63-59.
Although the Gaels still struggled from the 3-point line, a stronger defensive performance helped to negate the impact of their uncharacteristically poor play from deep.
Back-and-forth buckets led to the Gaels only trailing by two points going into the half; however, a poor performance in the third quarter meant that the Gaels would have to make up for a 10-point deficit going into the final frame of play.
In the fourth quarter, the Gaels shot 66 per cent from beyond the arc, combined with a dominant offensive performance from Mikayla MacFarlane, Kin ’25, and the defense who held the Badgers to just 11 points in the quarter the Gaels miraculously completed the comeback to win the game 63-59.
Men’s Basketball
The Men’s Basketball team found themselves in two close-fought games at the ARC this weekend. Winning on a go-ahead jump shot from star rookie Ollie Engen, Kin ’28, with just two seconds left on Jan. 24 against the TMU Bold extending their win streak to 13 games. They would lose their streak the following evening, with a loss against the Brock Badgers on Jan. 25, 100-102.
The Gaels hosted the dangerous TMU Bold at the ARC on Jan. 24, after they fell behind early, the Gaels rallied back to win dramatically 77-75.
Early in the first quarter, the Gaels found themselves down 11 points. The team would quickly find a few defensive adjustments and sunk some clutch shots—they entered the second quarter down just 6 points.
Through the second, the Gaels, alongside a rolling Kai Dalen, ArtSci ’25, closed the gap further, entering the half down just one point.
The Bold stayed dangerous through the first two quarters, sinking shot after shot, power forward Aaron Rhooms was a nightmare defensively, dropping 28 points against the Gaels throughout the game.
After the half, the Gaels were able to make further adjustments defensively, leading to a huge offensive boom in the fourth. After tying the game with under a minute to go, Kingston local and first-year phenom Engen crossed over the defender, and iced the game with two seconds to go on the clock.
The 77-75 win against the TMU Bold brought the Gaels’ win streak to 13 games.
However, this would also mark the end of the win streak for the Gaels, as they dropped an offensive 100-102 game to the Brock Badgers on Jan. 25 at the ARC.
Once again, the Gaels found themselves behind, being outscored two-fold after the first quarter.
Luckily, fatigue caught up to the Badgers, and the Gaels began to sink their three-pointers, tying the game going into the second half 53-53.
Unfortunately for the Gaels, the third quarter saw Queen’s struggle to find a rhythm from the three point line, going 1-12 in the quarter, the Gaels fell behind by five points going into the fourth quarter.
They were able to find the lead 83-77 early in the fourth quarter, but the Gaels ultimately found themselves down 100-102 with just a second left on the clock.
Queen’s was unable to find the buzzer-beater in this provincial championship rematch, leaving themselves with a record of 14-2 on the season.
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