Dec. 9, 2004
By Dan Tomlin
Sports Editor

After starting the season with a 3-0 mark, the Queen Bees have taken a turn for the worse lately, and after a 21-point loss to Olivet Nazarene they stand at 6-6.

In back-to-back games the Queen Bees lost in overtime to cross-river rival Augustana College, and McKendree College.  Both losses took a toll on the Queen Bees, mentally and physically.

In the overtime loss to McKendree College Michelle Kurth sustained an injury, sidelining the senior with a sprained ankle.  Despite the injury to Kurth, sophomore Jen Goetz nailed a three-pointer with just 14 seconds left to tie the game and send it into extra time.

In the extra five minutes the Queen Bees were unable to put together a big enough run to stop the Lady Bearcats attack, as McKendree made their free throws down the stretch and defeated the Queen Bees 82-79.

Also suffering an injury in the contest was Cathy Mangun who was hit across the face with an errant elbow.  Mangun would not return to the lineup for the Queen Bees during the contest against McKendree.

Two days later the Queen Bees traveled across the river to take on the Augustana Lady Vikings (0-4).

The Queen Bees would be without Kurth, but would have the facilities of Mangun once again against the Lady Vikings.  Despite Augustana coming in without a win on their record, the Lady Vikings knocked off the Queen Bees for the second year in a row and just the fourth time in 31 meetings.

During the entire game, both teams played very physical with Augustana enforcing their own “Goetz Rules,” as the guard was punished everytime she attempted a shot.  Without the benefit of the referees whistle, the sophomore was rendered helpless, while still managing to put in 24 points and haul in 19 rebounds.  Mangun also had a double-double as the point guard hauled in 11 rebounds to go along with a dozen points.  Ali Rorah had 12 in the contest as well.

The Queen Bees shot just 36% from the field in a game that saw a combined 38 turnovers.

So far in the 2004-2005 campaign it’s been a swing of three’s for the Queen Bees who after winning their first three contests, dropped their next three before tallying up thee more in the win column, which led into the current three game skid they find themselves in now.

Goetz is currently leading the Queen Bees in almost every statistical category, and is averaging a double-double, parlaying her 17.5 points per game with just over 10 rebounds per contest.

Heading into the 2005 calendar year the Queen Bees will be going into conference season after battling through one of their toughest pre-conference schedules in recent history.

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