parpho@rogers.com


Priamo drops season-high 19, Gaels drop Blues 86-63 for 10th win


KINGSTON, Ont. (January 14, 2017)- Andrea Priamo tallied a season-high 19 points, and the Queen's Gaels women's basketball team continue to remain the only undefeated team in the conference, as they defeated the Toronto Varsity Blues 86-63 on Saturday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).

Priamo was 8-of-15 from the field, 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, and recorded seven rebounds in the victory, while Robyn Pearson added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the national No. 5 ranked Gaels, who improve to 10-0 in conference play.

Queen's shot 46.2% from the field, their second-highest efficiency in conference play, and out-rebounded Toronto 46-29. Rahshida Atkinson drained a game-high 24 points in a losing cause for the Blues, who fall to the .500 mark with a 6-6 record.

GAME FLOW
The Gaels held the visiting Blues to a 21.4% offensive efficiency and three field-goals in the opening 10 minutes of the contest, while converting on 50% of their attempts to take a commanding 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Blues hit their first two shots in the second, including a three by Keyira Parkes, to cut the lead down to six. The Gaels post players went to work short after, as Veronika Lavergne (Ottawa) and Pearson (Toronto) earned back-to-back trips to the foul-line to push the lead back up to double-digits. Sarah Saftich (Markham, Ont.) then hit her second three-pointer of the half, giving the hosts a 14-point lead midway through the second.

The Gaels continued to roll offensively, finishing the half with just under a 45% efficiency while hitting 11 of 16 free-throws to take a 44-26 lead into the break. Pearson led all players with 11 points and seven boards in the first half.

Toronto's offense found its stride a bit more in the third quarter, almost matching its first half output by scoring 18 points in the period. Unfortunately for the Blues, the nationally-ranked Gaels managed two more points, and extended the lead to 20 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

After surrendering the first six points of the fourth, Emily Hazlett (Fredericton, N.B.) drove to the basket and forced a Toronto foul while picking up a bucket. She converted her free-throw to push the lead back up to 17. Soon after, Marianne Alarie followed up a missed lay-up and picked up two points while being fouled after a Toronto turnover. The Sudbury, Ont. native missed her free-throw, but Priamo (Guelph, Ont.) grabbed the rebound and notched the put-back, giving Queen's a 21-point lead.

The Gaels would cruise from there to maintain their unblemished regular season record.

FINAL SAY
"It's tough mentally coming back from a game like yesterday's," said head coach Dave Wilson. "Having gone into overtime against a top ten team, and I think it showed a bit. I think we weren't as sharp as we could be throughout a good portion of the game, particularly with that second quarter. We were a little careless with the ball and that is one of the things we wanted to change (in the second half). We wanted to take care of the ball more, and I thought we did that in the second half."

On Andrea Priamo's performance
"Andrea's been one of our most steady players all the way through the season, and her production is anywhere from 8 to 12 points per game. We saw the opportunity in terms of match-ups that the moves she has against a smaller player is very hard to defend and she has done a good job mastering those moves. So it was nice for her to take advantage of that."

BY THE NUMBERS
4- Robyn Pearson earned her fourth double-double of the season
86- The Gaels' 86 points was their second-highest output in conference play
29- Queen's picked up 29 points off of 23 Blues turnovers