Queen’s 55, Gaels lose two games

Women’s basketball falls twice on road, drops to 7-13 on the season

Queen’s Erin Skippon tries to box out Laurentian’s Darrah Bumstead for a rebound Friday. The Gaels lost 71-55.
Image supplied by: Supplied photo by John Sabourin/Action Event Photos and Laurentian Athletics
Queen’s Erin Skippon tries to box out Laurentian’s Darrah Bumstead for a rebound Friday. The Gaels lost 71-55.

The women’s basketball team came home from its two game road trip against the Laurentian Voyageurs and the York Lions empty-handed last weekend. The Gaels fell 71-55 to the 9-11 Voyageurs on Friday evening before losing 60-57 against the 5-15 Lions Saturday. The defeats drop the Gaels’ record to 7-13.

Guard Brittany Moore led the Gaels in scoring over the two games with 22 and 11 points, respectively. She said it was the team’s defence that caused them problems.

“Our inconsistencies on the court led to the losses,” Moore said. “The Laurentian game, we were with them the whole game; we just made a couple defensive plays at the end that cost us. The same thing with York. Our defense didn’t hold up.” On the offensive side of the ball, Moore said the team made poor decisions.

“You can’t expect it to be perfect every game; it’s just some decisions made on offence weren’t the greatest,” she said. “We’re trying new things on the offence and we looked more stationary out there. Our team didn’t have as much energy.”

Queen’s sent the Voyageurs and the Lions to the free throw line early and often, as they gave up on 42 points on 63 attempts over the weekend. In comparison, Queen’s went 24-34 in free throw shooting in the matches.

“They were definitely getting inside with their bigger players,” Moore said. “You could say it’s a discipline issue; we made a few plays, after making the first initial play we can’t just bail out. We need to step in and commit more in help.”

With a game-high 28 points against the Gaels, York’s Laura MacCallum took the lead in the OUA scoring race. With 368 points scored on the season, she leads Moore by one point. Moore said the Gaels didn’t do enough to defend MacCallum.

“Laura MacCallum really hurt us there,” Moore said. “It’s being able to be aware of where she is on the floor. We needed to do a better job in that area.” The Gaels sit in the sixth and final playoff spot in the OUA East with two games remaining in the regular season. York occupies the seventh position, trailing Queen’s by four points. In order to clinch a playoff berth, the Gaels must win one of their remaining games or York must fail to win one of its last games.

Forward Anne Murphy recorded seven points against the Lions and nine points against the Voyageurs. She said it was critical to move past the weekend and look to finishing the season strong as a team.

“I think for the most part everyone has improved drastically over the season,” Murphy said. “Everyone has had their ups and downs, everyone has played well. It’s that factor of having us all play well at the same time. That’s why it’s a team sport.”

Murphy said the Gaels would like to win their way into the playoffs rather than rely on a York loss. Queen’s will travel to the nation’s capital to face off against the 12-8 Carleton Ravens and the 13-7 Ottawa Gee-Gees this weekend.

“I think the biggest thing is coming into both games ready to play, ready to win and focused,” Murphy said. “I think that it would be extremely important to the team’s morale to go into the playoffs on a winning note so we can carry that forward into our next games.”

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