Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

The Queen’s Gaels finished the season with a 18-4 record with the tiebreaker giving them the second seed over the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The TMU Bold finished 16-6 and the sixth seed in the playoffs. With Queen’s having a first round bye they’ve only had to play one game, TMU two, and wins from both sides now puts them against each other in the OUA semifinals with a spot in the Critelli Cup final on the line.

For Queen’s, they’re trying to get back to where they were last year when they finished the season 21-1 and made it to both the Critelli Cup and Final 8 gold medal game, and get some revenge for the two losses at the hands of the Carleton Ravens they were handed. With losses to only Ottawa, Carleton and Brock, the Gaels have looked like last year’s form for a majority of the season, and a chunk of that goes to their MVP candidate, Julia Chadwick.

In Queen’s 75-54 win over TMU in the regular season, Julia had 13 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals, showing her ability in all facets of the game and being one of five Gaels who finished in double-digits in scoring. Julia is someone that the Gaels can play through with her efficient footwork and knowledge of how to put herself in the best position to grab any rebound. Going against the pair of Hailey Franco-DeRyck and Haley Fedick, Julia along with Bridget Mulholland will have to make sure they are always in a position to box out.

As TMU showed in the second half of their game against Brock, they can be a very prolific rebounding team, especially offensively. They extended numerous possessions by getting one sometimes two or three offensive rebounds and with shooters like Catrina Garvey, Jayme Foreman and Alex Pino waiting on the perimeter, not allowing those extended possessions can do a lot to put a cap on TMU’s offence.

Going back outside to those guards, the scoring from the guard spot for both teams may come from whoever has the hot hand from three. Both the Gaels and Bold have shown that they will go to a kick out three off an offensive rebound as well as creating it off the playmaking of their point guards, and both have the talent to shoot at a high percentage.

For the Gaels it’s Laura Donovan and Isabella Gaudet who often find themselves shooting from the wings, and playing catch and go in the corners. For the Bold it’s Jayme Foreman and Catrina Garvey who like to shoot from the top and the elbows, and their shots are often created through post entries whether its getting the ball in Fedick’s hands or creating penetration off the dribble and kicking out.

When the shot isn’t there, the Gaels utilize the midrange floaters using the speed of their point guard Emma Weltz, and TMU the rim attack of Kaillie Hall. Not allowing middle and forcing drives to go towards the baseline on either side of the key has been the defensive key to not allowing those shots to take over a game, and it will be interesting to see how both sides attack that game plan.

The Bold went to the OUA Critelli Cup final in both 2019 and 2021, the Gaels went just last year. Both are trying to make it back but only one gets a spot. The Gaels are 6-3 in their matchups with TMU over the last 5 seasons, while TMU is 5-1 all time in playoff matchups (via usportshoops).