Gaels sink playoff hopes of Voyageurs

Quarterfinal game set for Saturday at McMaster

Emily Hazlett scored 14 points in 30 minutes of action.
Image by: Kendra Pierroz
Emily Hazlett scored 14 points in 30 minutes of action.

After dropping two games last weekend and playing the first round of the playoffs without a bye, Queen’s needed to set the tone in front of a packed crowd at the ARC. Right out the gate, women’s basketball started out strong, taking a 6-0 lead in the first minute and a half of their opening playoffs game Wednesday night. 

Carrying that momentum through the remainder of the contest, the Gaels finished off with a 70-44 win against the Laurentian Voyageurs.

The first quarter ended with a three-point buzzer beater from Emily Hazlett, which put the Gaels ahead by 10. By the end of the half, Laurentian cut the lead to six, outscoring Queen’s 17-13 in the second quarter. 

“I’m disappointed that after the first quarter, we got careless and a little bit sloppy,” Gaels head coach Dave Wilson said. 

While they didn’t give up the lead, the Gaels allowed Laurentian to go on a 5-0 run, bringing them to within two points of Queen’s. 

“The problem that we faced a little bit is maintaining focus when we have the lead,” Wilson said.

Going into the game, Wilson’s plan was to keep things simple, which definitely paid off. The Gaels went on a 13-0 run to start the fourth, and finishing the quarter outscoring the Voyageurs 21-4. 

“I think the concept [of keeping it simple] worked, but I think we still had mental lapses in the second quarter, and a little bit in the third quarter,” Wilson said.

Queen’s will move on to play the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton on Saturday and hopes to advance into the OUA semifinals. The Gaels will need to maintain focus when playing against the Marauders. McMaster was given a bye into the second round and will be playing on a week’s rest, but Wilson has two bigger priorities going into this quarterfinal game. 

“They have one of the best players in the country at the point guard position, Danielle Boiago, and she’s always a handful to contain.”

Along with Boiago, Wilson said the game could end up being decided around the hoop. 

“We’ve been a fairly good rebounding team all year with McMaster, [but] we need second-chance opportunities and we need to not give them second-chance opportunities.” 

Tags

Dave Wilson, Emily Hazlett, Laurentian Voyageurs, women's basketball

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