Queen's at Laurentian January 12, 2008

Lady Vees stunned by pesky Gaels 73-71
Courtesy of Laurentian University Sports Information Office

The Laurentian Voyageurs women's basketball team suffered their fourth loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion, 73-71 to the Queen's Golden Gaels. Golden Gaels forward Sarah Barnes (St. Catherine's, Ont.) led her team scoring 23 points, including a game-winning three-pointer with 3.6 seconds to play. Cassandra Carpenter (Kanata, Ont.) led the Lady Vees with 23 points as well, in a losing effort.

Queen's came out the hotter of the two teams in the first quarter jumping out to a quick lead by way of their three-point shooting. The Lady Vees came out slowly, failing to convert their jump shots but midway through the quarter the Lady Vees began to settle down. However, the Gaels early cushion allowed them to take a 20-18 lead going into the second.

Queen's picked up right where they left off at the end of the first, converting their three point shots, and built up a 25-20 lead early on. Again, midway through the quarter the Lady Vees were able to trim the lead, but poor offensive execution late in the quarter allowed Queen's to carry a 38-31 into the half.

The Lady Vees were a much different team to start the second half, however, as they went on an early 10-2 run to take their first lead since early on in the first quarter, the run being sparked by a big three-pointer from Carpenter. However, the two teams would trade baskets for the last five minutes of the quarter and would be tied at 48 going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter went back and forth all the way down to the final buzzer with Queen's getting things started with a big three-point basket in their first possession. The Lady Vees battled back, carrying two five points leads throughout different points of the quarter but Queen's would stick around, managing to convert points in the paint, something that hasn't come easy for any Lady Vees opponent this season. The Lady Vees held a slim 71-70 lead with 23.4 seconds to play but Barnes took matters into her own hands as she hit a deep three-pointer with 3.6 seconds left to silence the Ben Avery Gym and steal an upset victory for the Gaels.

Barnes led the Gaels to victory scoring a game-high 23 points and Jamie Dale (Ottawa) contributed 11 points for Queen's. Carpenter also had a game-high, scoring 23 points for the Lady Vees in the loss. Kauri Lafontaine (Whitby, Ont.) had a double-double for the Lady Vees with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Queen's shot 38% from the field, while the Lady Vees shot 34%. The difference in the game, however, was three-point shooting as Queen's converted on 38% of their shots from downtown, while the Lady Vees only managed to shoot 21%.