WATERLOO, ON - The Queen's Gaels women's basketball team advanced to 8-0 on the season after a 70-63 win over the previously undefeated Waterloo Warriors on Nov. 26.
It was the second time Queen's and Waterloo went into a game matched up with an undefeated opponent. The Warriors snapped the Brock Badgers 4-0 start to the season and the Gaels beat the undefeated Ravens at home. Now these two undefeated teams went up against each other to see which of their streaks would continue and who would remain undefeated after week four of the OUA season.
Julia Chadwick and Summer Pahl were the key players for the Gaels and Warriors and their performances in the game did not disappoint. Being both of their primary scorers inside the paint, and top rebounders, their presence would be necessary and front and centre for the play of both sides.
The key for the Gaels who pushed out to an early lead was their physicality around the rim and their ability to get to the foul line. Though it evened out by the end of the game, Queen's forced early Waterloo fouls and found themselves shooting free throws which helped them push out their lead.
Waterloo struggled to get their offence going in the first quarter because of the physicality of the Gaels, but as the first half went on, the agility of Vanessa Hughes to get to her spots in the midrange and get to passing lanes to find her teammates, opened up the scoring for the Warriors. Hughes played 35 minutes in the game taking 23 shots and scoring 28 points. She was the focal point of the offence and her 16-point fourth quarter was a large reason why they were able to stay in the game against the Gaels efficient scoring.
On the side of the Gaels, Waterloo tightened their defence and denied the rim in the second and third quarter which slowed down the Gaels offence but their rebounding and key steals together with the lead they had built in the first quarter allowed them to keep with the Warriors who had gotten flowing, until the fourth quarter when the shots they were taking started hitting at a better clip.
As I said, Chadwick was a key player for the Gaels, averaging a double-double on the season and consistently being the leading rebounder and top three in scoring. She scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in this game, and the second half showed her battle with Pahl better than any. Chadwick along with Laura Donovan's ability to attack strong and either get her shot to go or get to the foul line where she shot 11 free throws making 10, constantly kept the Gaels going and gave them points when they needed it.
Leading scorer for the Warriors was Hughes who recorded 28 points while Pahl had 12 rebounds. Queen's now 8-0 looks to a matchup in Toronto with TMU and Toronto on the 2nd and 3rd of December while the 5-1 Warriors travel to Laurentian and Nipissing the same weekend.
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