Queen's vs. Cape Breton October 19-20, 2007

Gaels 77, Cape Breton 72
Gaels 48, Cape Breton 70
By Dave Wilson

It is hard not to think of Charles Dickens' writing in a Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." After making the long trip up to the Cape, we received an early taste of how good our team could be - at least on offence. We moved the ball very well, both in transition and in the quarter court, providing us with numerous wide-open looks from the perimeterÉ.. and we took very good advantage of those looks. Of the 77 point put up on the board, 30 of those points came off three-point shooting on 21 shots. Sarah Barnes made the most of her 5 three-point attempts, sinking all 5 to grab 15 points. Lyndsey Gauley hit 2 (on 5 attempts) for her 6 points, while Jaime Dale, Christine Wallace and Anne Murphy each made 1. Murphy finished with a game high 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Dale added 13 points. All 10 players dressed (Erin Skippon and Jess Selinger were sidelined with injuries), put points on the board. Teddi Firmi played a brilliant game at the point guard position - leading the break and distributing the ball.

Our defense, however, left a little to be desired. While it is early in the season, we are continuing to adjust to our "new" style of defense - and it has some growing pains. Lots of work to be done on pressuring the basketball and providing adequate support for players that drive the hoop. At the same time, we are forcing more turnovers and getting out on the break much better.

Day 2 had little resemblance to the first day. Credit to Cape Breton as they came out fired up, draining their first 4 shots, two of which were 3's. Defensively they brought intensity that was lacking the previous day - intensity that took us out of our offensive rhythm. Our shooting was as cold this game as it was hot the previous day. By the end of the first quarter, we trailed 22-13. Early foul trouble sent Teddi Firmi to the bench and eventually Sarah Barnes as well. By half we trailed 40-22. The third quarter had itŐs moments as we pulled to within 10 several times - but could never break that double digit barrier. A disastrous 2 min. at the end of the third quarter saw a 14 point deficit balloon to 24 points before the horn sounded. Although some good things happened in the fourth quarter we never challenged the lead. We did make some improvements to our help defense as we were able to draw 5 charges. Amanda Northcott led the team in that category, stepping in for 3 thumpers. Anne Murphy led the team in scoring with 11 points - no other player hit double digits.