Queens survive late charge by Briercrest to take 66-63 win
Queens survive late charge by Briercrest to take 66-63 win
The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens survived a late charge by the Briercrest College Clippers to post a 66-63 win and earn a berth in Saturday's final at the ACAC Women's Basketball Championships.
With four minutes left in the game, Red Deer took a 63-52 lead, but the Clippers battled back. Queens head coach Avery Harrison wasn't surprised. "There's no quit in them. They keep coming at you."
"They're a great three-point shooting team," Harrison said of Briercrest. "That kept them in the game."
Briercrest shot 44.4 per cent for the game to Red Deer's 28.7, but the Clippers managed 33 fewer shots, a testament to the Queens' defensive effort. In the end, Harrison felt it was his team's defence that helped save the game.
"We switched things up defensively," Harrison said. "What we were doing wasn't working."Harrison credits the team's defensive prowess to his assistant coaches, Nadine Cunningham and Shelton Frank.
With the win, Red Deer earns a berth in the national championships by virtue of the ACAC also holding a wild-card spot. It will be Red Deer's first trip to nationals since 1992. It will also mark the 11th time at nationals for Harrison as a head coach, who also had five visits as an assistant coach. Cunningham was a player on the last Queens squad which went to nationals.
Forward Janai Hubert (second year, Bachelor of Kinesiology, Red Deer) was the Queens' Player of the Game after scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Guard Heena Sidhu (fourth year, BA - Political Science, Surrey, B.C.) also finished with 16 points while Peighton Melton (second year, Open Studies, Lacombe) added 11.
Forward Amber Fichtner (third year, BA - Psychology, Yorkton, Sask.) earned Player of the Game honours for Briercrest with an outstanding 22-point, 18-rebound performance. Sydney Latrace (third year, Bachelor of GS - Arts and Science, Regina) tossed in 18 points on six-for-11 three-point shooting while Brooklyn Martens (third year, BA - English, Caronport, Sask.) netted 15.
Defence and turnovers were the hallmarks of a low-scoring opening quarter that saw Red Deer emerge with a 13-8 lead. Midway through the period, each team had scored just four points.
Heena Sidhu sparked the Queens to a 24-14 lead with about three minutes to play in the second quarter, first delivering a driving layup and foul shot, then adding a layup on a fastbreak following a turnover. Red Deer led 29-21 at the half.
Neither team shot well in the first half, with the Queens connecting on just 22.4 per cent of 49 attempts while Briercrest hit eight of 24 shots for 33.3 per cent.
Apparently the two teams found their range finders during the break. In the third quarter, the skies began to rain threes, leading to a 54-42 advantage for Red Deer heading into the final period. Briercrest hit on four three-pointers in the quarter - all of them by Sydney Latrace - while the Queens made three.
After Red Deer took a 63-52 lead with about four minutes to play, the Clippers mounted a fearsome comeback that threatened to undo all of the Queens' earlier work. Fichtner's layup with 1:19 to play made it a 63-61 score, but Red Deer held on for the win.
"We bent but we didn't break," said Harrison.
Players of the Game:
Queens: #22 Janai Hubert
Clippers: #8 Amber Fichtner