Queen's vs. St. Lawrence October 11, 2007

Gaels 65, St. Lawrence 42
By Dave Wilson

Let the games begin. Given that we have been struggling to get 10 people out to practice (nagging injuries), it is not surprising that our players were anxious to get some games in - just to play 5 on 5. We scheduled what I originally thought would be a controlled scrimmage with St. Lawrence College Vikings on Thursday evening - it turned into a regular game - I apologize for not informing at least our local fans of the opportunity to get an early look at the 2007-08 version of the team.

Eleven players dressed for the game: Captain Jess Selinger is still sidelined with the most serious of our teamÕs injuries; a possible herniated disk in her back. The prognosis is still unclear. The other 11 players all saw action against St. Lawrence. We shot the ball very poorly to start the game against a hustling and aggressive squad, coached by former National team player (and Bishop's University coach), Andrea Blackwell. We found ourselves down a quick 6 points before we found the hoop. St. Lawrence did an excellent job of crashing the offensive boards and when they didn't secure the rebound, they often tied up our players. By the end of the first quarter we trailed 14-13. In the second quarter, we began to find our stride, scoring 19 points and holding St. Lawrence to just 2. In the third quarter, the Vikings caught us off-guard when they came out in a zone defense - we had not put in a zone offense yet. While not pretty, we managed to build our lead, outscoring the opposition 17-10 in the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw each team score 16 points to finish with a 65-42 victory for us. All 11 players scored, with Jaime Dale leading the way with 10 points. Coach Blackwell has done an outstanding job of getting her team aggressive and hustling - they should do well in their league this year.