The Queens swept by the Lightning in their opening weekend

Calgary, October 22 - For the second consecutive night, the St. Mary's University Lightning would come out victorious over the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens in Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference action. The Queens would fall to 0-2 to start their 2022-2023 season.

It was a fast start for the Queens with the starting five opening the scoring with six points in the first minute. But the Lightning stormed right back with an 11-0 run. Red Deer would not give up though. They would fight back and would end the quarter down by just two with the Lightning leading 21-19. Third-year guard Keanna Richards would lead the way for the Queens with six points but Amy Szymanek would sneak in right behind her with five points and three rebounds. Lightnings Jazmyn Kellogg finished the quarter with 12.

Five minutes into the second, Head Coach Avery Harrison calls a timeout to regroup his girls after the Lightning would take a 30-24 lead. Late in the second quarter, Szymanek drove into the paint and laid one up for two to cut the Lightnings lead to 34-32. But St. Mary's equalized it with a lay up of their own after spending a lot of time picking up offensive rebounds in the Queens zone. The Calgary-based team would stop the Queens for the last minute of the half and would capitalize on one foul shot and a lay up to take a 39-32 lead into the dressing room. Szymanek would take the lead in points for the Queens after she dropped seven points and added four more rebounds to her total. Kellogg would continue to lead her team in points with 14 at the half.

The first couple minutes of the third showcased the defensive skills from both teams as they went scoreless. But the Lightning had no problem breaking that scoreless streak with a three-pointer to extend their lead to 10. The Queens, however, would battle back to within seven points. But that just wasn't enough to St. Mary's. They would go on a run of their own forcing Harrison to call a timeout for the Queens. At the end of the third, the Lightning led the Queens 52-42. Szymanek only had one point in the quarter but was a rebounding machine, giving her a total of 10 on the night. Kellogg of the Lightning found her scoring touch again and would sit with 19 at the end of the third.

The Red Deer women just could not handle the Lightnings offence in the fourth with the team dropping consecutive three pointers to take an early 18-point lead over the Queens. This was enough for the Lightning to take the win and the sweep of the Queens. The final score was 68-56 for the home team.

The Lightning player of the game went to Kellogg with her impressive night that included 22 points, three steals and two rebounds. On the other hand, Szymanek would be awarded her second consecutive player of the game honour with 13 rebounds and 22 points.

The Queens will be back in action next week at the Gary W. Harris Centre when they take on the Medicine Hat Rattlers on Friday, October 28 and 29. The match will start at 6 pm on Friday and 1 pm on Saturday.