Undefeated at 3-0, tied for the top of their division, the Queen's Gaels flexed their muscle this past weekend and they have some great things working for them. They cruised past Western 102-72 a day after picking up a big win over the Windsor Lancers. Looking at how their squad is built and how they're able to get everyone involved, their depth with how they play is going to cause a lot of problems.
In their double-digit win over the Western Mustangs, the Gaels showed a type of defence built on forcing the opposing guard to make mistakes, and pushing the ball up the floor when they do. They stuck with the Mustangs guards on drives to the rim making sure to contest the shot and in quite a few instances the ball didn't make it to the paint before it was going the other way.
Queen's did a great job of getting hands into the lane and swarming toward the ball to try and get steals. They'd poke the ball out and push in transition with the speed that they have and if they couldn't get to the ball, the forwards would be in the paint ready to either deny the shot or get the rebound should it miss. The forward duo of Katrina Renon and Kiyara Letlow really played off each other well this weekend with Katrina sometimes popping out and playing around the perimeter, and cycling with Kiyara for who would have the rim and who would be defending drives or the baseline player cutting to the paint.
Kiyara and Katrina provided a backbone for the defence, and when the Gaels forced a turnover, you saw the versatility of the Gaels, especially with everyone they could throw on the court. Brooke Hussey and Haley Barbieri running the point with Ally Smith the main shooting guard. Smith and Bella Gaudet their main three-point shooters with Mikayla McFarlane the first forward off the bench to spell Katrina or Kiyara. Sarah Reid and Maddy Boyd getting the next most minutes off the bench. The Gaels have a lot of depth, and they went to several different options offensively throughout the game against the Mustangs.
Whether it was getting Brooke an early screen to force a potential switch and a lane inside, pushing in transition and immediately skip passing the ball to the opposite corner for Smith or Katrina or playing inside-out by feeding the ball into the post early in the shot clock, they showed several different ways they could get their best scorers in advantageous situations. Their point guards are able to read the floor and know how they have to manipulate the defence to get the look their team wants. Their perimeter players know where they have to be to get the shot they want. I think you saw this weekend that everyone on the floor works in tandem on both sides of the ball and that's really important for any team looking to go on a run.
Queen's has several different options at each position that they can turn to and get production out of depending on the matchup. They play a swarming style of defence that can snowball into a lot of turnovers and frustration for the opposing team. They move the ball on offence unselfishly and if they can keep up the production from their shooters spacing the floor, they will be a hard team to beat.