Queens Win Thriller Over Texas A&M-San Antonio in Queens Classic Finale

Plainview- The Flying Queens capped off their 2024 Queens Classic with a thrilling 86-82 victory over Texas A&M-San Antonio behind 27 points from Kaitlyn Jerden.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle to begin the game as both teams were able to get inside the paint to score, but senior point guard Emily Sigala gave the Queens the early 9-8 lead after sinking an open three-pointer. The Jaguars snagged a 10-9 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Queens answered with a 10-0 scoring run sparked by a Jerden three-pointer to take a 19-10 lead. Junior Teodora Popovic closed out the opening stanza with a three in the last few seconds to give the Queens a 24-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
The Jaguars wouldn't allow the Queens to build on their lead in the early moments of the second quarter, and they gradually chipped away at their deficit to tie Wayland Baptist at 30-30. With the Queens holding a 36-34 lead with just over three minutes until the halftime break, Jerden began to takeover offensively and scored the final eight points of the half, including a massive and-one in the final minute, to give the Queens a 44-43 lead over the Jaguars at the halftime break.
 
The Queens lead wouldn't last long to begin the second half as the Jaguars capitalized on four early WBU turnovers to take a 54-49 lead halt the Queens momentum. The Queens kept their composure and battled back to take a 59-58 lead with just over three minutes left in the third after Jerden converted another jumper followed by a Bobbie Fouquet three-pointer.
 
Popovic gave the Queens a huge jolt of energy off the bench with two minutes left in the third when she drained a corner three off the feed from Jerden to put Wayland Baptist on top 68-62. Senior Kinga Stachowska capped off the energetic ending to the third with an offensive rebound, put-back layup to extend the Queens lead to 70-62 heading into the final quarter.
 
The Queens held a 72-65 lead with just over six minutes left in regulation, but another Jerden and-one followed by a bucket from junior Megan Nestor put the Queens up 77-65 late. Nestor would strike again with another easy layup off the dish from Fouquet to give the Queens an 81-71 lead heading into the critical moments of this game.
 
Even though they were trailing by 10 with only a couple of minutes remaining in the game, the Jaguars wouldn't quit and fought back to tie the game at 82-82 with just under thirty seconds left in regulation. With just under ten seconds left and the Queens owning possession, Jerden attacked the bucket but was unable to convert the finish. However, Nestor followed the shot to clean up the offensive glass and put the shot back up and in for a go-ahead and-one.
 
Sigala put this game on ice with two successful free throws in the last second of regulation to give the Queens the thrilling 86-82 victory over Texas A&M-San Antonio to conclude the 2024 Queens Classic.
 
Head Coach Jason Cooper highlighted some noteworthy performances tonight saying, "Kinga gave us the best minutes that she has had as a Flying Queen. Kaitlyn has played really well these last two game, and we're very excited about the progress she's making. Meg had a big double-double again, and it's nice if we can count on that every night. I was proud of how Emily handled the last five minutes of the game for us at the point, which was solid as always."
 
As a team, the Queens finished with 28 points in the paint, 18 second chance points, and 13 points off the bench. The 23 turnovers committed by the Queens was high, but their composure and poise down the stretch was outstanding and helped contribute to the victory.
 
Jerden finished with a team-high 27 points on 10-16 shooting from the floor, including 3-4 from 3-point range, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Nestor tallied her third straight double-double to begin the season, finishing with 13 points and 14 rebounds on 6-9 shooting from the floor. Brice added 11 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Sigala finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Fouquet scored 11 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
 
"I thought it was a great game overall. TAMSA is a solid team, and we needed a game against a good team as we head into conference play next week," said Coach Cooper when talking about his team's performance this afternoon.
 
Coach Cooper continued, "I was disappointed in the way we turned the ball over. However, I was very excited about the huge rebounding margin we had. There are definitely some areas of improvement we have to make."
 
The Queens will return to the court on Thursday, November 14^th when they tip-off Sooner Athletic Conference play against the Lions of Langston University. Tip is scheduled for 6:00 PM at the Hutcherson Center.