Queens 90 Rattlers 39
The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens basketball team flexed their offensive muscles Saturday in their second straight win.
The Queens knocked off the Medicine Hat Rattlers in convincing fashion at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre with a 90-39 victory.
With just over a 50-point margin in the game, the Queens improved to 2-2 after dropping their first two games this season.
It was a dominant effort on both ends of the floor by the Queens, who held the Rattlers to just 22 first-half points and 17 second-half points, including five in the fourth quarter.
Head coach Avery Harrison agreed it was a dominant effort and said the Rattlers are a very young team.
“A lot of times out there with our defensive pressure, their youth and inexperience showed up. I liked how hard Medicine Hat played,” he said. “I liked our defensive pressure tonight and I think we can play better yet.”
“We have a lot of things we can work on to improve so we’ve got a busy week ahead of us getting ready for Augustana next week.”
Some of the inconsistencies Harrison would like to see his team improve are their help-side defence, turning over the ball less, and doing a better job of boxing out and getting defensive rebounds.
Despite shooting 52 per cent from the field, the Queens turned over the ball 25 times but picked up 55 boards.
“We were 10 over what our (turnover) goal was today so we still turned it over and a lot of the times we turned it over its unforced errors on our part. We’re trying to force a pass that’s not there instead of being patient and waiting for the offence to take care of itself,” he added.
Queens Amy Szymanek earned player of the game for her 23-point performance on 10-of-16 shooting. She also added eight rebounds and three assists.
Point guard Sandra Garcia-Bernal also had a big game. She scored 18 points on eight-of-10 shooting and added eight assists and six rebounds.
Bernal’s performance also earned a thumbs-up from her coach who said she played an outstanding game.
“If you have a point guard who can do that, that’s great leadership on her part,” Harrison said. “She sets the tone for the team with her intensity and she is intense every shift. She brings up our intensity as a team when she’s on the floor.”
Next up for the Queens is a road date with the University of Augustana Vikings.
