Depth of Queens propels them to third straight win

Brent Forster - RDC

Only one point separated the Red Deer College Queens and the Briercrest College Clippers on Friday, so it was no surprise that it would be another close showdown Saturday afternoon at RDC. After the Clippers led at the half, the Queens played well in the final two quarters and pulled away late for a 63-56 victory, their third in a row.

The Clippers took an early lead in the first quarter but Sandra Garcia-Bernal pulled the Queens within a point (5-4) with a layup. Briercrest College hit some shots and after the first quarter, the Clippers held a 15-8 lead. Maya Parker contributed 3 points for RDC while Dionne Martin led Briercrest College with 6.

The Queens chipped away at the 7 point deficit in the second quarter. Maya Parker connected from behind the three-point arc and then shortly after Jessie Handley was sent to the free-throw line for RDC. Queens Basketball Head Coach Ken King wanted to see improvement on the free-throw shooting Saturday afternoon and Handley responded. The first-year guard from Red Deer sank her two opportunities. With seconds remaining in the quarter, Briercrest College hit a jump shot to lead 25-23. At the half, the Queens went 77.8% from the free-throw line and totaled 24 rebounds. Mary Krause led the way for RDC with 7 points and 3 rebounds over two quarters. Dionne Martin accumulated 10 points for Briercrest College.

The Queens connected on several long shots in the third quarter. Eva Bonde, Maya Parker and Paige Schultz all hit three-pointers but the Clippers kept it close. At the end of the quarter, the teams were knotted up 46-46. Paige Schultz had 12 third quarter points for the Queens while Kai Wyatt had 12 for the Clippers.

The RDC Queens started the fourth quarter with focus. After Maya Parker connected from the field, Paige Schultz continued her hot streak and sank another three ball to give the Queens a 51-46 edge. As the Queens were up 55-54, Emily White made a nice block inside the paint to maintain the lead. Madison Nimmo had a strong quarter, and hit shots from the field and free-throw line. Nimmo contributed 6 points, 1 block and 6 rebounds in the fourth quarter. The Queens earned a 63-56 home victory. Moriah Williams had 5 fourth quarter points for Briercrest College. The Queens outrebounded the Clippers 65-42. Impressively, the RDC Queens knocked down 50% of their three-point attempts. Both teams shot 31.7% from the field. 

King liked the consistent effort and believes the win in a close game will provide valuable lessons down the road. "I thought that we competed really hard throughout the game," said King. "We struggled a bit against the zone which caused us to have some empty possessions, but overall to have to compete hard over forty minutes to pick up the win gives us a lot of lessons that we can learn from. We were more consistent today. Our defence was leagues better than yesterday, especially in the first half."

The depth of the Queens provides a variety of choices for the coaching staff. Several young student-athletes have embraced a role in a Queens jersey. "It's nice to have those options. We have different people stepping up every day," said King. "Madison Nimmo has been battling coming back from injury over the past two weeks but she came in and gave us really quality minutes and rebounding. She had six boards in seven minutes which is awesome. First-year Paige Schultz is playing well. Sandra Garcia-Bernal is great on defence and our leading rebounder." The Queens had 36 points from their bench. The Clippers only had 4. 

King appreciates the dedication from the student-athletes. "I like that the Queens are committed to doing whatever they can to win. Now, the ladies are embracing that it is an expectation to win and they need to take care of things during the week in order to do so," said King. "The ladies understand that the work they put in Monday through Thursday creates what happens on the weekend."

Sandra Garcia-Bernal was named the player-of-the-game for the RDC Queens while Dionne Martin received the honour for the Briercrest College Clippers. Garcia-Bernal totaled 3 points, 2 steals, 1 assists and 15 rebounds. Martin finished with 14 points. Schultz led the Queens with 16. The Kinesiology & Sport Studies student added 1 assist, 2 rebounds and sank 5-of-5 three-pointers.

In a rare Thursday game, the Red Deer College Queens (5-6) will compete against the Broncos (7-4) in Olds on January 25 at 6:00 p.m. The Queens will host the Broncos on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in the RDC Main Gym. The Queens sit in fifth spot in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Basketball South Division with 10 points and are only 2 points back of fourth place St. Mary's University.