The women’s basketball team had their four-game winning streak snapped by the Laurentian Voyageurs in a 57-56 loss on Friday in Sudbury.
The Gaels started out strong, leading by 11 points at the half. But they had a rough third quarter where they were outscored 16-6.
With eight seconds left in the game, the Gaels were down by three points, when guard Jessica Selinger was fouled. Making good on both of her foul shots, Selinger brought the Gaels to within one point.
But Laurentian maintained possession of the ball through the final seconds of play and the game ended 57-56.
Gaels Sarah Barnes and Clair Meadows led the team in scoring with 18 points each. Meadows is ranked eighth in the province in points per game. Selinger said the loss was heartbreaking.
“We started out very strong, but then they went on a run,” Selinger said. “We know in our hearts that we can beat them.” Head coach Dave Wilson agreed. “Laurentian played zone defensive and we forced them out of it,” he said. Their strategy for this game was to focus on star Voyageur, Cassandra Carpenter, who led her team with 17 points. “It was a team effort to stop and control her,” Selinger said. The Gael dropped their second game of the weekend on Saturday, losing to the York Lions 55-42 in Toronto. Selinger and Anne Murphy led the Gaels in scoring with eight points each.
The loss to York puts Queen’s in third place, just behind Laurentian. York is in first place.
Selinger said playing the first place team after a tough loss can be difficult, but they just had to forget what happened and focus on the game at hand.
“We had to focus on their guards as that’s where most of their points come from,” she said. “We had a better showing than last time.” It was the second time this season that the Gaels played the Lions, and Wilson said his team played a more defensive game this time around. The last time Queen’s played York, Queen’s lost by 20 points.
Wilson said they were better prepared this time. “We competed more than in the first game,” Wilson said. “Now we know what it takes to beat them.”
The Gaels only have three more games remaining in the regular season. They will play Carleton and Ottawa next weekend at home, and then close the season at RMC Feb. 14.
Selinger said they will prepare for the games the same way they always do, by focusing on different things for each team and coming out strong.
“We just have to keep the intensity up and work hard,” Selinger said. “We know we can win these games.” Wilson said each game is critical if they want a chance to regain second place,
adding that they are banking on York beating Laurentian in the final game of the season. But Wilson said the team isn’t looking too far ahead.
“We can’t look to the playoffs yet.”
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