WBB | Voyageurs Fall to Gaels, Prepare for Playoffs

The Laurentian Voyageurs women's basketball team rounded out their regular season with their senior night at home against the Queen's Gaels. It was a hard fought game that ended with the Voyageurs on the wrong side of a 66-51 score line.

The game began with the Gaels firing on all cylinders and Laurentian finding it difficult to get any offensive momentum at all. Their 21% shooting in the first quarter was always going to lead to a tough roadblock but, with Queen's finding easy baskets throughout the first, it really put Laurentian in a sticky situation for the rest of the game, as, before you knew it, Queen's had a 21-8 lead going into the second.

The Voyageurs did bounce back in the second, making things a lot more difficult for the Gaels and starting to find their stride on the offensive end as well. Led by six points in the quarter from both Héléna Lamoureux and Bailey Tabin, the Voyageurs were only outscored by two in the second quarter and had improved their shooting percentage to nearly 50% in the second. However, they still saw themselves in a big hole, down 15 going into half.

The third quarter saw the Voyageurs tighten up on defense, allowing only 13 points in the third quarter against one of the best offenses in the nation, as the Gaels were held to just 1-6 shooting from beyond the arc and 29% overall shooting in the third. This allowed the Voyageurs, led by Princess Bernardino hitting two three-point shots in the third, to bring down the lead to 12 going into the fourth quarter.

Laurentian did all they could to mount the comeback in the fourth and finish the season with a huge upset. In the end, however, Queen's was able to repel everything the Voyageurs threw at them. It was a final score of 66-51 in Queen's favour by the end of the game.

The Voyageurs top performers were both seniors playing their final home game as Voyageurs as Lamoureux put up 15 points and seven rebounds while Bailey Tabin put up 10 points of her own.

Laurentian will have their first Critelli Cup playoff game Wednesday night in the nation's capital as they face off against the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the first round, with tip-off set for 7pm from Montpetit Hall.

Andrew Lemieux