The Queen’s Women’s Basketball team came out of the regular season with their first win on Wednesday night, beating the York Lions in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 OUA playoffs 74-65.
After edging the visiting Lions, the Gaels now move on to face the X-University Rams on Saturday for round two in Toronto.
Head coach Claire Meadows spoketo The Journal after Wednesday’s game.
“We knew from the outset that York was going to come out and they were going to come out a lot with a lot of energy and come at us. And that’s exactly what they did.”
Both teams were strong in the first half, but the Gaels had the upper hand after consistently penetrating the Lions’ interior defense.
Going into the third quarter, the Gaels were up 8 but fell into a bad rhythm and went down by 2 heading into the final quarter. Buckling down, however, the Gaels charged back to post 19 points—to York’s 8—in the final frame, securing the win and catapulting them to the second round.
“I thought we needed to tighten up our defense a little bit more, especially in the first half, and then of course, in the third quarter. But then by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, we were able to do that,” Meadows said.
Speaking on their down stretch in the third quarter, Meadows said it was just “playoff basketball,” and with seasons on the line, the Lions likely just came out of the half with more of a hunger to win in the moment.
“Prior to the fourth quarter, we were able to punch them back,” she said.
Meadows lauded two key players from the night’s game: fourth-year guard Emma Weltz and fourth-year forward Julia Chadwick.
“I thought Emma Weltz had a phenomenal game for us,” she said. “We got the ball into her hands […] she made great plays and great reads, and that got us back into the game.”
“Julia has been phenomenal for us all year […] she had 20-something points and 20-something rebounds […] She just does such a good job with all the little things: clearing the boards, being physical, and then she just has a great touch around the room. So, she was she was also great for us tonight.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s game, Meadows knows the challenge that lies ahead of the team—the number one, undefeated ranked X-University Rams—but she’s expecting a good game, nonetheless.
“I’m excited for this matchup. We played two really good games with them this season. They got us both times, the first game by three, the second game by nine, so [we’ve] got nothing to lose, and [we’re] ready to go out.”
Tip-off is at 6 p.m in Toronto, Mar. 19.
Tags
playoffs, women's basketball, York Lions
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