Through 14 games, it appears the nationally-ranked seventh women’s basketball team has come across their first serious speed bump of the season.

Over the weekend, the Gaels dropped both of their weekend matchups at home to the nationally-ranked fourth Carleton Ravens 49-39 and Ottawa Gee-Gees 61-53. While the Gaels are still second in the OUA East behind Carleton, Queen’s now sits just two points ahead of Ryerson and four ahead of Ottawa.

Following the losses, head coach Dave Wilson said he was disappointed in his team’s play.

“They’re tough games,” Wilson said. “Losing to Carleton is one of those things on paper you say, ‘Yeah, we’re supposed to lose to Carleton but it should be a good game.’”

Carleton has been one of the Gaels’ bitter rivals in recent years. Last season, Queen’s was topped by the Ravens in both the OUA finals and at the U Sports Championships.

For Wilson, the loss to Ottawa was the more troubling of the two. 

W – Dixon picks up the steal and takes it all the way for an easy two. Gaels and Gee-Gees are live on https://t.co/9xTOznwjCF #GoGaelsGo pic.twitter.com/3FEExfVm2C

— Queen’s Gaels (@queensgaels) January 14, 2018

“Losing to Ottawa is more problematic. They’re a team that’s below us in the standings and talent-wise, we look good on paper,” Wilson said regarding how he expects his team to play against lower-ranked teams.

The loss marks the Gaels’ first set of consecutive losses in nearly two years.

“It does feel odd, which is a nice thing to say because of how far the program has come. In reality, that’s not the biggest issue,” Wilson said, who emphasized that the actual losses weren’t what weighed on him. Rather, it was how the games were executed.

According to Wilson, one of the team’s strengths is their ability to properly prepare for their matchups in the week leading up to their games. This weekend, Wilson said their preparation deserted them in both games.

“The areas where I had difficulty on the weekend was the mistakes that we were making. It’s in such contrast to what I thought we did during the week,” Wilson explained. “That’s the part that I think is most frustrating.”

Arguably one of the Gaels’ pitfalls on the weekend was their shooting, which sat at an average of 25.1 per cent over the two games. They shot far below their season average — 38 per cent — which has them rank fourth in the OUA in field goal percentage.

Women’s Basketball Game in 60 vs Ottawa #OUA #USPORTS pic.twitter.com/HpOylM0dG0

— Queen’s Gaels (@queensgaels) January 15, 2018

Despite their disappointing performance, Wilson recognized their failure to execute a game plan hasn’t been a problem through the first half of the season.

“We can’t have that again,” he said. “It just seemed like such an anomaly this weekend that we didn’t do what we normally do well.”

With that, Wilson plans to keep a positive outlook with nine games left in the regular season.

“Realistically, it’s not like the world has changed on us. They’re a very prideful group,” he said of his players.

The Gaels will look to rediscover their success on the road this weekend in some critical games, as they are set to tip off against Ryerson and U of T in Toronto. Ryerson currently sits two points behind the Gaels in the OUA East, while the Gaels hope to capitalize on the sixth-ranked Varsity Blues.