Women’s Basketball splits weekend in Ottawa

Queen’s Women’s Basketball conceded their first loss last Friday against the Carleton Ravens, but Queen’s recovered with a win over uOttawa on Sunday to not go home empty-handed.

Friday’s game was devastating right from tip-off. The Raven’s Nest was alive with student support and the team took advantage of it. Meanwhile, Queen’s started the game with a missed three pointer, missed lay-up, and a missed jumper.

Carleton opened the scoring with a three from Dorcas Buisa and didn’t look back. The Gaels, however, continued to struggle with another missed lay-up and jump shot before finally getting one to drop. Queen’s trailed 22-8 at the end of the first.

Their string of bad luck and shots that would not drop continued as they ended the first half in a 18-point deficit. The Ravens successfully stopped the undefeated Gaels because they made a plan—stop Julia Chadwick—and stuck to it without getting frustrated.

Queen’s, on the other hand, struggled to adjust when Chadwick was double-teamed in the paint, and when their offense started to fall apart, so didtheir composure.

Chadwick was visibly frustrated with the pressure and referee calls, and it hurt the Gaels on their way to a brutal 64-32 defeat.

Queen’s missed 11 lay-ups over the course of the game because they struggled under Raven pressure and couldn’t regain their composure. Had they made these easy buckets their deficit could’ve been reduced from 32 points to 10.

Carleton simply played better basketball: they had more second chance points, more help from their bench, more points off turnovers, and more points in the paint.

Friday night was heartbreaking, and no one was sure how the Gaels would bounce back after a loss—they’d yet to be in such a position all season. Fortunately, Sunday was a chance for redemption and the Gaels took it.

Queen’s double-header in Ottawa—in which they had to play both of their biggest OUA competitors in less than 72 hours—was just brutal scheduling luck. The Gaels, however, don’t succumb to luck—good or bad.

The Gaels took the floor Sunday night with a new energy and desire to win. Although uOttawa was statistically the tougher team, Queen’s took charge of the game immediately. At the end of the first, the Gaels were up 24-12.

The rest of the night in Ottawa followed in typical Women’s Basketball fashion: they shared the ball, set up strong offensive plays, and executed excellent defensive stops.

Chadwick finished with a double-double on Sunday after scoring 17-points and securing 17 rebounds. She also had a season high of four blocks.

From Friday to Sunday, the Gaels also drastically improved their free-throw percentage from 57.1 to 83.3 per cent. Small improvements like this help demonstrate what Queen’s can do when they play a strong mental game.

By the end of the fourth the Gaels had 12-points on the Gee Gees and ended the game 70-58.

Although they lost their perfect streak, Queen’s performance on Sunday was enough to keep them at the top of the OUA East ranking. The Gaels still have the best record in the country with 15 wins and a singular loss.