McQueen @ CU
Zoe Zdunczyk - MU Sports Media
81
Madonna MADONNA 9-10, 5-8
85
Winner Cornerstone (MI) CORNERST 10-8, 8-5
Madonna MADONNA
9-10, 5-8
81
Final
85
Cornerstone (MI) CORNERST
10-8, 8-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 F
Madonna MADONNA 14 18 18 19 12 81
Cornerstone (MI) CORNERST 18 17 17 17 16 85

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Kellen Burke

McQueen shatters records in road matchup against Cornerstone

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Madonna Women's Basketball Team (9-9, 5-7) headed across the state to face the Cornerstone Golden Eagles (9-8, 7-5) in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference matchup. In what turned out to be an overtime nail-biter, Crusader guard Aaliyah McQueen showed up in a record-shattering performance, accounting for more than half the Crusaders' points single-handedly. McQueen recorded 41 points and 15 rebounds, including three clutch free throws at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, putting her at second all-time in school history for points in a game. Despite McQueen's historic performance, it was not enough to lead the Crusaders past the Golden Eagles, who would take an 85-81 overtime victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Golden Eagles got off to an early lead in the first quarter, scoring four before the Crusaders were able to find the bottom of the net. The first points of the night came from freshman Ashley Kopacko, who knocked down a shot from behind the arc to get the Crusaders on the board. As the Golden Eagles continued to roll, McQueen got her first points of the night as she drove through the paint for a layup to cut the lead to six with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. With three minutes remaining in the first period, sophomore Delani Robinson drained a three-point shot to bring the Crusaders back within one point of the lead. As the first quarter came to a close, the Golden Eagles held on to a 18-14 lead over the Crusaders.

While they took a minute to get going, the Crusader offense began to find their rhythm in the second quarter. McQueen took a fast-break steal down the court for two to open up the period. From there, Robinson picked up her second three of the game, who was followed up by Dekota Smith with a layup to take the first lead of the night for the Crusaders. Madonna was able to hold onto the lead up until the final three minutes of the quarter, when Cornerstone would catch up once again. Despite going into the half down 35-32, the Crusaders outscored the Golden Eagles 18-17 in the second quarter.

Coming out of the break, the Crusaders would continue to stay hot. McQueen would open up the half with a layup and a three pointer, moving into double-digits already on the night with 14 points. The Golden Eagles would maintain their lead for almost the entirety of the quarter, but could never pull away by more than a few points as the Crusaders stayed right on their tail. With exactly one minute remaining in the quarter, Kayiona Willis knocked down a deep-three to tie the game at 50-50. A last-second layup would put the Golden Eagles up 52-50 at the third-quarter buzzer, but the Crusaders once again outscored them 18-17 this period.

McQueen hit the 20-point mark in the opening minute of the fourth, off of a jump-shot with an assist from Robinson. Once Willis drained her second three-pointer of the night to tie the game at 55-55, the final quarter became an absolute stalemate. As the Golden Eagles tried in vain to pull away, McQueen took the game into her own hands, scoring 16 points by herself just in that quarter to keep the Crusaders on the heels of the Golden Eagles. With less than thirty-seconds remaining in regulation, it looked like the Golden Eagles had pulled away 69-66. However, the Crusaders weren't done yet. With one second remaining, McQueen threw up one last three-point shot, getting fouled by one of the Golden Eagles. With a chance to tie the game at the charity strike, McQueen locked in and drained all three shots to tie the game at 69-69 to end regulation.

In overtime, McQueen would add another seven points to her total for the night, becoming the second Crusader in school history to achieve the 40-point mark in a single game. However, her effort was not enough to catch up to the Golden Eagles, who would pull away 85-81 in the final minutes of overtime.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
  • McQueen led the Crusaders with 41 points, 15 rebounds, and five steals, scoring the second-most points in a single game in school history.
  • Willis scored nine points and shot 50-percent from behind the arc.
  • Smith recorded eight points, six assists, and six rebounds.
UP NEXT:

The Crusaders will stay on the road as they head to Adrian, Mich. to face the RV Siena Heights Saints (17-2, 12-1) on Saturday, January 27th at 5:00 pm.
 
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