This season’s women’s basketball team looked poised for a long playoff run after three veteran players returned from long-term injuries.

But for the fifth straight season, the Gaels lost in the first round of the OUA playoffs, falling to the Ryerson Rams for the second consecutive year after having beaten them twice in regular-season play.

The Gaels finished the regular season fourth in the OUA East at 12-10 — a major improvement from last season’s 7-15 record. But they were only an average team, winning against lesser competition, but dropping all six contests to teams ahead of them in the standings.

On Jan. 20, the Gaels lost 59-27 to the Carleton Ravens, a defeat that 30-year head coach Dave Wilson called “close to one of the worst performances I’ve seen in my history at Queen’s.”

The Gaels were hampered by poor fourth-quarter performances all season, getting outscored in the final frame in 15 of their 22 games. With only two players above 6’0, they also struggled against taller teams.

Wing Christine Wallace and guards Meaghan McDougall and Rachael Urosevic all recovered from season-ending injuries last year to provide some depth behind fifth-year guard and star player Brittany Moore.

The success story of the season was Moore’s climb through the OUA all-time scoring charts, finishing her career with 1,652 points — the second-best total in league history. Moore scored over 10 points in all but two games, shot over 40 per cent from the field and was an OUA first-team all-star for the fourth time in her career.

Rookie wing Jenny Wright was another bright spot, earning a place on the OUA all-rookie team. Wright led all rookies with 106 rebounds, while averaging 6.9 points per game.

But the future looks uncertain for the women’s basketball team. With Moore and Wallace both graduating and no clear-cut star to take over, the Gaels will be in rebuilding mode next year.