Queen's vs. Lakehead December 1, 2007

Late surge by the Gaels secures a win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves
Queen's 80, Lakehead 57
By Dave Wilson

The start to the Lakehead game seemed like more of the same. Lakehead came out shooting extremely well connecting on their first 5 shots to take an 11-0 lead. Following a time out, we began to settle down and find our range narrowing the gap to 5 points at the end of the first quarter, 24-19. Our defense continued to get stronger in the second quarter, holding Lakehead to just 7 points, while we converted 16 of our own to go to the dressing room up 35-31. We stretched that lead to 56-45 by the end of the third quarter, but Lakehead was not done yet. Despite building the lead to 14 points, early in the fourth, Lakehead went on a run to cut the lead to 6 points with six and a half minutes to go. A steal by Erin Skippon in the middle of the key, sparked a quick transition hoop that began a 20-3 run to finish the ball game.

Jaime Dale finished with 20 points, including 3-5 from 3-point land, while rookie team mate, Brittany Moore had a career high 19 points, including 3-4 from beyond the stripe. Teddi Firmi continued her solid play with 10 points, 5 assists and 7 rebounds.

And so the fall season has come to an end. With a record of 3-6 we are in 4th place in the eastern division behind York, Toronto and Laurentian. While not an impressive record by any means, we have shown signs of our capability - and we will be quite strong come January. Six of our 11 active players have shared the spotlight as the leading scorer in a game. Our defense continues to get stronger and stronger. Players are beginning to react instinctively, rather than having to think their way through situations. All this bodes well for the second half of the season.