TORONTO - Fresh off an undefeated regular season, the Rams women's basketball team came off a bye week on Saturday night to knock out the No. 9 ranked Queen's Gaels 67-58.
Jama Bin-Edward led offensively, scoring 22 points. The Rams forced 26 turnovers and never sacrificed the lead.
Kaillie Hall was quick to compliment Bin-Edward post-game. "We have on-ball defense. Jama is just insane, guarding the ball. That's what we anchor ourselves in," she said. "It's something we'll continue to look at throughout the playoffs. Ultimately, it's what brings us energy, and it's super fun to play as well."
After a slow opening few minutes, early three-pointers from Kyia Giles and Bin-Edward kickstarted the Rams' offence.
Queen's answered late in the quarter as the Rams were up 22-15 after one. Bin-Edward and Giles continued to lead, while
Eleanor Jones scored a pair of buckets including a tight layup off an
Eve Uwayesu feed.
Despite her attacks, Bin-Edward commented on the squad's defending. "I think that our team is really defensive minded. (Queen's) is a good team, and we knew that they were gonna go on runs. I think that we did a good job of limiting the runs, and then also creating for ourselves," she said.
The Gaels continued to rally, bringing things within 2 points in the second. The shift in momentum was largely due to the Rams cooling off from beyond-the-arc. However, Giles converted a highly contested late three as the Rams padded their lead up to 37-26 at the half.
Stefanija Mrvaljevic found the scoresheet early in the third alongside Rachel Farwell. Despite more runs from Queen's, including 11 total points each from Laura Donovan and Sophie de Goede, the Rams maintained a 49-43 advantage heading into the final ten.
Late in the game, a dagger three-pointer and a pair of free throws from Farwell sealed the Rams' win.
Head Coach Carly Clarke commended the Gaels while focusing on the Rams' next round.
"Queen's is a top 10 team in the country. So we knew it was going to be a tough battle the whole game," she said. She also commented on the team's depth and trust when moving the ball on the court.
"We have a lot of trust in each other on the floor. We're willing to share, move the ball and find the open player and find the advantage."
The undefeated Rams now look toward the next round of the playoffs, where they'll host the Carleton Ravens on Wednesday night, with tip-off at 6:00 p.m.
