The Queen’s Women’s Basketball team faced significant adversity on their road to the OUA playoffs this season.
With nearly their entire starting five having graduated at the end of last season and multiple injuries throughout the year, the Gaels’ winning season was a remarkable testament to the strength of the Women’s Basketball program.
By no means were the Gaels expected to defeat the Gee-Gees, who finished second overall in the division and had already beaten Queen’s twice this season—53-60 on Jan. 31 and 57-63 on Feb.15.
Athough the Gaels fought hard, they ultimately fell to the Gee-Gees once more, losing 52-71 in Ottawa on Feb. 22, ending their season in the quarterfinals. This marked a significant step back from their provincial finals berth last season.
However, considering the team had to say goodbye to nearly their entire starting five, a winning regular-season record and a third-place divisional finish are achievements to be proud of.
With no graduating players, this should serve as a warning to every team in the nation: Queen’s is coming.
Claire Meadows, head coach of the Women’s Basketball team, sat down with The Journal to reflect on their playoff loss to one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
“Our program went through a remarkable amount of adversity this year, through injuries and other personal matters, you know, there were a couple of games leading into playoffs where we had six to seven players dressed, and then our final playoff game, we had eight players dressed. So, all things considered, I think we got the absolute most out of the season,” Meadows said.
A season filled with obstacles also brought valuable lessons, according to Meadows.
“The biggest thing we’ve talked about as a program is learning what joy can do for your program and how we approached each and every day. Regardless of the setbacks we faced, every single player showed up to every practice and every game with a smile on their face, ready to take on the challenge,” Meadows shared. “When you build that up every day, it builds a sense of resiliency in your program, and how important that was for us throughout the season.”
The Gaels finished 15-7 this season, placing them in third place in the OUA East division and establishing yet another winning season.
Although wins are rewarding, Coach Meadows mentioned that perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the season was the team’s engagement with the Kingston community.
The Women’s Basketball team frequently welcomed youth basketball teams to sit in on practices and hosted community fundraising events like their annual Shoot for the Cure game which took place on Jan. 26 and raised around $3,300.
READ MORE: Women’s Basketball raises around $3,300 during annual U SPORTS Shoot for the Cure
As for next season, Coach Meadows noted that improvements won’t necessarily come in the form of on-the-court adjustments, but rather in how the Gaels carry themselves and solidify their mindset.
“There’s a lot of reflection to be had this year because we had such a new group. We didn’t necessarily know what everything was going to look like going into this year, so we really had to use this season as a learning tool for us to figure out what players really look like and what they can do.”
Going into this off-season, the Women’s Basketball team won’t have a single player from this season graduating, providing a massive amount of potential upside regarding the growth the Gaels can achieve for next season.
While Coach Meadows said she, along with the rest of the team, is looking to make a deeper playoff run next season, the Women’s team is primarily focused on improving every single day.
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