Cheering on the team
Capers women lose 60-51 to Gaels in quarter-finals at nationals
Cape Breton Capers fans, from left, Hardik Patel, A.J. Leblanc, Jonathan Langille, Joseph Chiasson and Kasy Benoit watch their team compete at the U Sports Women’s Basketball Final 8 in Victoria, B.C., Thursday. CBU lost their quarter-final game against the Queen’s Gaels, 60-51.
The Cape Breton Capers couldn’t counter a Queen’s Gaels team that heated up in the second half in a 60-51 quarter-final loss at the U Sports Women’s Basketball Final 8 national championship Thursday in Victoria, B.C.
The Capers were in control in the first half, up 30-21 at halftime. They held a 15-point advantage with about seven minutes to go in the third quarter as well, but the Gaels of Kingston, Ont., — the No. 3-seeded team at the tournament — began to chip away at the lead, going on an 11-point run.
Queen’s took its first lead of the game with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter and never looked back, outscoring CBU 22-9 in the final frame. Marianne Alarie fired a pair of threes in the fourth and finished with 14 points for the victors, while Robyn Person recorded seven of her nine points down the stretch.
“It was depth and details,” said CBU head coach Fabian McKenzie. “They’re so deep. They have 10, 11, 12 players that they don’t miss a beat when they make a sub. They don’t worry about foul trouble. They’re so deep.
“They started to focus on the details and we lost track a little bit and we just ran out of gas. For three quarters, we played exceptionally well in a lot of areas and followed the game plan. We showed some people out here who we are, but it’s just heartbreaking to lose.”
Colleen Keane picked up where she left off from the Atlantic University Sport championship. The tournament MVP scored 15 points to go with five rebounds and two assists. AUS MVP Alison Keough of Marion Bridge followed with 12 points and nine boards, shooting 4-for-7 from the floor.
The Capers, the No. 6 seed at the event, play in today’s consolation round. The best they can finish is fifth place. They’ll play the No. 2 seed and defending national champion Saskatchewan Huskies at 10 p.m. Atlantic time, after the Huskies were upset by the No. 7 Laval Rouge et Or on Thursday night.
“We watched a bit of the second game to get a feel for what’s going on there, now we’re going to go out as a team and have a meal, we’re going to get back together and stay focused and stay together because that’s what we do and get ready for (today),” said McKenzie. “We throw another punch (today) and see what we can do.”
Queen’s will play Laval in the first semifinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. The second semifinal wasn’t determined at press time.
Games are being streamed online at usports.live.