Whether it’s on the road against Guelph or at home against uOttawa—some of the toughest competition in the country—Queen’s Women’s Basketball will not be stopped.
The Gaels started the weekend strong with a 76-68 win over Guelph. In their first match against one of the most dominant teams in the OUA west, the Gaels needed to come out strong.
In the first quarter the teams matched each other block for block and board for board, but by the end of the second, Queen’s had secured a comfy 16-point lead. Consistent shooting from Emma Weltz and valuable boards from Julia Chadwick kept their offense productive.
In the third, Queen’s ran into some trouble when Gryphon MacKeely Shantz started to dominate the paint. She collected a season-high 29 points and eight rebounds over 38 minutes played.
The Gryphons outscored the Gaels in the second half, but still couldn’t take the lead. Queen’s did what it has been doing all season: work as a team to find the best opportunities. They totaled 38 points in the paint as their bench chipped in 13 of their 76 points.
On Sunday afternoon, Queen’s looked for a repeat, this time against uOttawa. In this Shoot for the Cure game, Queen’s looked to both raise money for breast cancer research and improve their record—and they accomplished both.
Nonetheless, Queen’s went in wary of uOttawa’s skill and 15-3 record.
“They need to be really well respected because they have a really great coach and a lot of good players,” Gael Laura Donovan said in a post-game interview with The Journal.
This was Queen’s second match against uOttawa in two weeks, their first coming right after their first loss last weekend against Carleton. In last week’s game against uOttawa, the Gaels bounced back, and they kept up their momentum in the second matchup.
“It was tough, it was our first loss of the season, we were undefeated before that; but again, it taught us a lot, we learned from it, and I think it shows a lot about our team that we were able to bounce back,” Donovan said.
“We now know how it feels to face adversity and we hadn’t faced that earlier in the season being undefeated, so I think at the end of the day, it does teach us a lot moving forward.”
This weekend’s game ended in Queen’s favour: 70-58. Donovan was key in accomplishing the win as she showed incredible leadership on the floor.
“I have a great group of girls around me who are also my best friends, and they have lots of trust in me and I have lots of trust in them and I think that’s really big,” she said.
The game wasn’t all smooth sailing, however, as uOttawa’s streak later in the game brought them within striking distance of the Gaels. Donovan recognized the Gee Gee threat and was most proud of how the team held out for the win.
“I think it shows a lot about the consistency and the leadership on our team that we were able to still pull out the win with them going on a little bit of a run,” she said. “I think it was a really good team win.”
Looking ahead, the Gaels play Lakehead on Friday at 6 p.m. at the ARC. It’s their last home game of the season and promises to be a treat. The Gaels’ record now sits at 17-1—the best in the country.
“The job isn’t done just because we’ve done well in the season,” Donovan said. “We got to keep it rolling through playoffs.”
Tags
Gaels, Gryphons, Julia Chadwick, Laura Donovan, women's basketball
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