The Red Deer College Queens and Kings had mixed results Friday night.
RDC hosted the Ambrose University Lions Friday at Red Deer College in Alberta Colleges Athletic Association action, where the Queens won 77-61, while the Kings lost 106-87.
The Queens battled the Lions first.
Ambrose came out of the first quarter with a 18-15 lead, but RDC fire right back, outscoring the Lions in every other quarter en route to the victory.
Queens head coach Ken King said he was happy with what he saw Friday night.
“We had an inspired practice on Thursday, and I thought we played pretty inspired tonight,” he said. “There was a really consistent energy level we saw over four quarters that we’ve only seen in spurts.”
King said first-year Queens played very well on the defensive side of the court.
“I don’t think this game turns out the same way without the great contributions from first-year players,” said King.
One of those first-year Queens, Paige Schultz, said the team definitely stepped up against Ambrose.
“I thought we played with a lot of energy, and we played well as a team,” she said.
Schultz, who grew up in Saskatoon, put up 10 points Friday’s game and drained three three-pointers.
“The three-point line is farther back in Saskatchewan, so it’s been a lot of work to adapt, but those shots are finally dropping so I’m happy about that,” she said.
Maya Parker and Lauren Cardinal led the Queens in scoring with 12 points each. Eva Bonde was named player of the game after racking up nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
In the second game of the night, the Kings lost 106-87 to the Lions.
RDC gave up 65 points in the first half while only scoring 34.
Kings coach Clayton Pottinger said it’s hard to win when you start slow.
“It looked like we didn’t come to play,” said Pottinger. “In the second half, we woke up a bit, but we already dug ourselves too big of a hole.”
Pottinger said his squad had more turnovers than it did made shots in the first half.
Moving forward, the team will need to fix its inconsistent play, said Pottinger.
“If we can put in four complete quarters we’re probably tough enough to compete with or beat anyone in the league,” he said.
Omon Edobar led the way for the Kings, scoring 23 points and adding seven rebounds.
The Kings and Queens are back in action at Red Deer College Saturday night when Lethbridge College visits RDC. The Queens game starts at 6 p.m. and the Kings game follows at 8 p.m.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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