Tale of two halves as Kodiaks take decision over Queens

Brent Forster – RDC

Red Deer, AB – In a tale of two halves, the RDC Queens didn't generate enough offence in the opening two quarters against the Lethbridge College Kodiaks and despite outscoring the visitors in the latter half, the host Queens dropped a 46-30 decision at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.

It was a low scoring first half, with the Kodiaks holding a 26-9 edge. Both teams had trouble connecting from the field. The Kodiaks were 9-of-35 (25.7%) and the Queens went 3-of-17 (17.6%) on their field goal attempts. Courtney Peterson led the way for Lethbridge College with nine points. Harneet Sidhu contributed five points for RDC.

Harneet Sidhu (14) Colby Brochu Photography

"We didn't even shoot the ball. We only had 17 shots in the first half," says Head Coach Ken King. "We turned it over as machines in that first quarter – a lot of lazy passes, not coming back to the basketball and the byproduct of that is not shooting the ball as much."

The RDC Queens outscored the Kodiaks 21-20 in the second half but dropped a 46-30 home decision.

Colby Brochu Photography

The Queens held the Kodiaks' offence to under 15 points in three of the four quarters. "I thought that our defence was actually pretty good for the most part," says King. "We had a couple lulls but overall it was pretty good."

The RDC Queens made 10-of-46 shots from the field (21.7%). "We had three quarters when we scored under 10 points and a quarter when we had under five points, so I don't think anybody expects to win when nobody is trying to score," says King.

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks put up 60 shots from the field (28.3%), hitting 17.

Jessie Handley (34) Colby Brochu Photography

"The most important thing for us today is that we have a lot of kids here from Red Deer Minor Basketball. We are going to talk and hang out with them," says King. "You can pout and feel sorry for yourself as much as you want but right now we have the opportunity to influence and grow some kids. We will take that opportunity and then go back to work on Monday."

Amy Szymanek, a Bachelor of Education Secondary student, was named the Queens Player-of-the-Game, contributing three steals, two points, two assists and two rebounds. Courtney Peterson was selected for the Kodiaks, totaling nine points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block.

On Friday, February 8, the RDC Queens will play the Olds College Broncos at 6:00 p.m. on the road. On that evening and also on Saturday, February 9, a President's Challenge will take place.

RDC and Olds College frequently partner on initiatives and activities to provide learning and growth opportunities to the communities of central Alberta. RDC President & CEO, Joel Ward will compete against Stuart Cullum, President of Olds College, in a game of 21 in Olds on Friday and then at RDC 24 hours later. The losing President will have to the wear the other team's jersey for a full day on Monday, February 11. If Ward and Cullum split the games of the 21, the point differential will determine the winner.

A beer tasting event will take place. As part of both college's support for central Alberta charities, donations will be accepted with proceeds going to Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre (CASAC).