Kodiaks over Basketball Queens in a nailbiter

Brent Forster - RDC

The Red Deer College Queens Basketball team hit the hardwood against the Lethbridge College Kodiaks in the RDC Main Gym on Saturday evening, and the game came down to the wire. There were several swings in momentum and the Kodiaks eventually won 51-50.

The opening quarter was back-and-forth and the Queens held a 13-11 edge. Eva Bonde picked up 6 points, 1 assist and 2 rebounds for RDC in the quarter. Courtney Kwasney and Amy Arbon scored 3 points each for Lethbridge College. 

After the Kodiaks led 27-17 in the second quarter, Maya Parker drove the lane and scored while also being fouled. Parker sank the free-throw for the three-point play. At the half, the Lethbridge College Kodiaks were up 29-24. Over 2 quarters, the Queens connected on 3-of-9 three-point attempts. Jessie Handley led the RDC Queens with 4 points while Madi Gladstone and Shayna Mathison had 4 points each for the Kodiaks in the quarter.

Lethbridge College had a 12 point lead in the third quarter but RDC chipped away at it. Paige Schultz sank a field-goal from the right-side to reduce the lead to 7 (40-33). After three quarters, the Kodiaks had a slight 3 point edge (45-42). Mary Krause totaled 7 points, 1 steal and 2 rebounds for the Queens while Jaclyn Heggie picked up 4 points for the Kodiaks in the quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, the Queens took a 46-45 lead when Maya Parker stole the ball and banked it in off the glass. There were opportunities for both teams the remainder of the quarter and the Kodiaks picked up a 51-50 win. Jessie Handley picked up 4 points and 2 rebounds for the Queens while Amy Berryman contributed 4 points for the Kodiaks in the final quarter. As a team, the Queens had 60 rebounds and 10 steals. 

Queens Basketball Head Coach Ken King didn't see a consistent effort on Saturday. "Yesterday was a game of consistency, where today was a game of inconsistency. We made some mistakes and Lethbridge deserved the win," said King. "The Kodiaks finished shots and we didn't finish shots. Overall, the consistency has to be there at both ends of the floor and we didn't see that today."

Maya Parker was named the player-of-the-game for the RDC Queens while Amy Berryman was chosen for the Kodiaks. Parker found herself at the free-throw line several times by forcing the Kodiaks into fouls through her energetic play. The fourth-year guard accumulated 13 points, 3 steals, 2 assists and 8 rebounds for RDC over four quarters.

"We wanted to attack the Kodiaks and get them into foul trouble, and I thought we did a good job at times. Unfortunately, we waited too long to figure out how effective that could be," said King. "Once we started doing it, we saw a big scoring run. Maya did a great job of demonstrating that as a fourth-year player. She showed that poise and made good decisions of drawing contact and going to the line."

The Queens (2-4) will compete against the Olds College Broncos (3-3) on Friday, November 24 at 6:00 p.m. on the road.