Bonde scores eight points, but Trojans pick up road win

Brent Forster - RDC

Saturday evening, the Red Deer College Queens Basketball team played their home opener against the SAIT Trojans. There were several shifts in momentum throughout the game, but the Trojans picked up a 59-39 win. 

The Trojans took an early lead in the first quarter but the Queens battled back. Lauren Bailey tied the game at 9 when she hit a three-pointer and the RDC Queens showed great energy. At the end of the quarter, the Queens held a 13-11 lead. Eva Bonde led the Queens with 5 points while Alexa Tan contributed 5 for the Trojans.  

SAIT had a strong second quarter and added 16 points while RDC responded with 6. At the half, Eva Bonde had a total of 8 points for the Queens while Alicia Tan totaled 9 for the Trojans. Lauren Cardinal had 3 points for RDC in the quarter. Over 2 quarters, The Queens went 3-for-6 from behind the three-point arc. The Trojans went into the half up 27-19.

In the third quarter, SAIT had a 10 point lead but RDC chipped away at it. The Queens outscored the Trojans 13-10 and entered the fourth quarter only down by 4 points (36-32).

The RDC Queens opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer but the Trojans continued to expand their lead. The SAIT Trojans added 22 more points and eventually picked up a 59-39 win.

Eva Bonde had a total of 8 points, 1 steal and 2 rebounds for RDC. Alicia Tan accumulated 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists for SAIT. 

Madison Nimmo was named Queens player-of-the-game while Melanie Thera received the honour for the Trojans. Nimmo, a second-year guard from Red Deer, picked up a game total of 4 points, 2 steals, 1 assist and 10 rebounds. Thera had 10 points, 19 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal and 2 assists over four quarters.

Queens Basketball Head Coach Ken King was appreciative of the play from many first-year players. "I am ecstatic for our rookies. I couldn't ask anymore from several first-year players to do what they did. I am confident that the lineup that went in there in the third quarter outplayed them substantially," said King. "Had they been able to sustain that, I think that they could have pulled us back into the game purely with effort." 

First-years Sandra Garcia-Bernal, Lauren Cardinal and Paige Schultz gave a strong effort. Garcia-Bernal, an Open Studies student from Valencia, Spain, contributed 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 point and 2 steals. Cardinal had 7 points, 1 assist and 2 rebounds. Schultz scored 3 points and added 1 rebound.

Several student-athletes made an impact. "Maya Parker did a good job with her energy. We saw some great looks from Mary Krause," said King. "She is a veteran player who is really coming along. She was great in the preseason and she did more of that today."

King liked the team defence but would like to see more finish. "Our defence was great tonight. When someone scores 59 points, you think that you're going to win but our shooting percentage wasn't good," said King. "We have to finish better from around the rim."

The Queens shot 23.2% from the field and connected on 25% of their three-point attempts. 

The Queens were without Emily White, who has an injury. "Emily is a great player," said King. "We miss her when she's out, but we had the ability to win with the people in the lineup today."

The Queens (0-2) will face the Briercrest College Clippers (0-2) in Saskatchewan on Friday, November 3 at 6:00 p.m.