MONTREAL (December 28, 2014) - The Queen's Gaels are taking part in an invitational tournament hosted by Concordia from December 28-30 in Montreal.

Day 1 - Queen's 64, Bishop's 56

Liz Boag (Kingston, Ont.) was top scorer on Sunday night, scoring 18 points for the Gaels in their 64-56 victory over the Bishop's Gaiters on day one of the Concordia Invitational Tournament.

Besides Boag leading all scorers, the Gaels had strong performances from Sarah Saftich (Markham, Ont.) who scored 12 points and Robyn Pearson (Toronto) who dominated the backboard grabbing 13 rebounds.  Noemie Hamel-Petit led the Gaiters with 15 points and was followed by Edith Noblecilla who put up 13 points.

The Gaiters grabbed the lead from the tip off and although the Gaels kept it close, Bishop's was able to gain a 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. It was a close game until half with five lead changes as the Gaels scored 19 points over the 16 points from Bishop's, putting them ahead 35-33 going into the second half.

The Gaels turned up the heat in the third quarter hitting a 9-2 run and outshooting the Gaiters 17-7, stretching the gap to a 12 point lead. Going into the final frame, the play slowed as the Gaiters found their footing and fought to regain their first quarter lead. Although they outscored the Gaels 16-12, the Gaiters couldn't catch Queen's putting the final score at 64-56 for the Gaels.

The Gaels enter Day 2 of the Concordia Invitational with a 1-0 record and are scheduled to play the Concordia Stingers at 7:00 pm. 


Day 2 - Queen's 47, Concordia 66

The Gaels lost 66-47 to the Concordia Stingers in Day Two of the Concordia Invitational giving them a 1-1 record.

The Stingers were led by Richelle Gregoire who led all scorers with 22 points and Marilyse Roy-Viau who had a double-double performance with 16 points and rebounds. Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, Ont.) and Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) both chalked up 10 points for the Gaels followed by Liz Boag (Kingston, Ont.) who scored nine points of her own.

It was a close first half with both teams shooting 30 % from the floor. The Stingers grabbed the lead early in the game and managed to get ahead of the Gaels by one point at the end of the first quarter. Both teams matched each other in the second quarter with 16 points putting the score at 27-26 for Concordia at halftime.

The second half saw the Stingers begin to pull away as they scored 16 points in the third quarter while the Gaels added 11 points. Concordia's momentum continued into the final quarter as they hit a 13-0 run and outscored the Gaels 23-10. The Gaels struggled to catch the Stingers with Boag sinking a three pointer with two minutes on the clock however, Concordia shut down any attacks in the last minutes of play to meet the final buzzer with a 66-47 win over the Gaels. 

The Gaels will wrap up their time at the Concordia Invitational on Day Three when they take on the McMaster Marauders at 11:00 am. 

Day 3 – Queen's 47, McMaster 75

The Gaels finished up the Concordia Invitational with a 75-48 loss against the McMaster Marauders giving Queen's a 1-2 record at the tournament. McMaster came out on top with a 3-0 record over the three day exhibition.

Despite their loss, Liz Boag (Kingston, Ont.) led all scorers with 20 points for the Gaels while Maddie Morris (Seeley's Bay, Ont.) and Jenny Wright (Kingston, Ont.) contributed six points each of their own. Danielle Boiago who scored 19 points and Rachael Holmes who scored 16 points were were strong on offence for the Marauders in their win. 

The Gaels scored the first baskets but the Marauders didn't let them get comfortable, outscoring the Gaels 23-9 in the first quarter and pulling ahead to grab the lead that they would never relinquish. The second quarter saw the Marauders score 21 points while the Gaels put up only 14 points putting McMaster ahead 44-23 at halftime.

It was an aggressive third quarter as the Gaels struggled to catch McMaster and began fouling the Marauders who scored 15 points from the charity stripe. Even though the Gaels gained some traction in the final frame, with a lead of 59-35 the Marauders were able to stay ahead and grabbed a 75-48 win over Queen's.

The Gaels will return to regular OUA season action on January 9 when they host Nipissing University at 6:00 pm in the ARC Main Gym.  ?