Two more wins, bye in sight

Women’s basketball fully returned to their winning ways, prevailing twice last weekend to extend their streak to three straight victories.

The Gaels defeated the Algoma Thunderbirds 66-21 and the Laurentian Voyageurs 69-50 on Friday and Saturday, pulling into a second-place tie in the OUA East division with the Ottawa Gee-Gees, a team they beat in their previous meeting.

Head coach Dave Wilson believes his team has increased their intensity in recent games because they’re more motivated.

“We’re coming down the home stretch here and we’re in a battle for first, second or third place,” Wilson said. “We certainly have a goal to be in an OUA medal situation. Our kids are motivated to reach those goals.”

The Gaels (12-6) cruised against the Thunderbirds (0-18) en route to a blowout victory in which they won by 45, their largest win margin of the season.

No Algoma player scored more than five points in the contest, while the team never scored more than double-digits in any quarter. Their second-quarter showing featured only two points made from two free throws.

Despite the Gaels’ dominant performance, Wilson said his team could have performed better.

“As a coach, you’re never satisfied with what you’re able to accomplish,” he said. “There’s always things we could correct, always things we could do better.”

Guard Liz Boag and forward Robyn Pearson scored nine and 14 for the Gaels, respectively.

The last time the Gaels faced off against Laurentian (4-14), it was close to the end, but in Saturday’s game, Queen’s jumped out early and never looked back. They led throughout and kept a cool distance the entire game.

Boag had an all-around game as she paced herself with 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and five steals. Jenny Wright also scored 15 points to go along with six rebounds.

The Voyageurs were held to just 26.4 per cent shooting from the field. The Gaels were able to contain Laurentian’s Adrienne Moreau of the Voyageurs from making her shots from beyond the three-point arc, where she made one of nine. In their previous meeting, she was six of nine from distance.

Moreau still finished with a double-double, tallying with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

The Gaels will face off with Ottawa (12-6) and the Carleton Ravens (13-5) for the final time this regular season at home this weekend. All three clubs are fighting for first-round playoff byes, awarded to the division’s top two finishers.

Boag said her team is feeling a sense of urgency as they come close to the end of their regular season with only four games left.

“This is going to be a tough weekend,” she said. “When you’re playing teams in the East, it gets a little more personal.”