Queen’s Women’s Basketball first in the nation

Queen’s takes top spot after wins over Windsor and Western

Image by: Herbert Wang
The Gaels showcase their stellar defense.

After sweeping both the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs last weekend, Queen’s ascended to the top of the OUA rankings.

In Friday’s 77-47 win over Windsor, the team started off hot, taking the lead with a quick basket from fifth-year Julia Chadwick followed by a three-pointer from fourth-year Isabelle Belvedere. Building on the quick start, Queen’s extended their lead to 11 by the end of the first quarter.

Their momentum carried into the second quarter, with the team scoring a combined 30 points and holding a 27-point lead going into the half. With no player scoring more than seven points in the second quarter, it was truly a team effort.

Coming out of the break, the scoring from the Gaels cooled off, finishing with 23 points in the second half. However, the defense held Windsor to only 20 points over both quarters.

Chadwick was a clear standout, leading the team in both points and rebounds with 17 in both categories. Mikayla McFarlane led a strong bench effort with 12 boards in 22 minutes, once again showing how the Gaels get results through complete team performances.

Third-year guard Isabella Gaudet emphasized how the team drives each other to succeed.

“Each practice we go at each other like it’s a game and coming off last season we are just trying to keep the energy going […] it’s fun to play when we are consistent,” she said in a post-game interview with The Journal.

Queen’s continued their domination the next night with a 100-59 victory against Western. Although the Gaels put 100 points on the board, it’s not the number of baskets that set them apart.

“I think [I’m most proud of] two things: we have been spending a lot of time on defence and although we scored 100 points tonight, I was really impressed by what we did in defense […] that allowed us to play in transition and generate some offence; and then just the way we share the basketball,” Head Coach Claire Meadows said in a post-game interview with The Journal.

“[It’s a] very unselfish team and we just hunt the best shot possible. I’m quite proud of that.”

After her performance this weekend, Queen’s star forward Chadwick received the OUA Athlete of the Week award. However, Gaudet and Belvedere weren’t far behind, with 17 points each.

“The passion for basketball runs deep and we are such a close-knit team that we celebrate each other’s successes,” Gaudet said.

“So, whether it’s myself hitting a shot, or another player hitting a shot, we are always there for each other. Whether its someone’s game, or another person’s game, we all celebrate the little wins, so it makes us better as a whole.”

The Gael’s next game will be against the fifth-ranked Carleton Ravens on Friday, then against the fourth-ranked uOttawa Gee Gees on Sunday.

These games should shape out to be the two most important ones of their entire season.

“The focus is on Friday and taking care of Carleton and then turning it around on Sunday to Ottawa,” Meadows said.

“It’s just going to be a week of preparation,” Gaudet agreed.

Tags

Basketball, ranked first, USPORTS, Western, Windsor

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content