(Kingston, Ont.) Nicki Schutz’ 13th double-double of the season helped propel the visiting Varsity Blues to a 62-54 upset win over the Queen’s Gaels in an OUA East playoff quarter-final contest at the Queen’s Centre on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Queen’s at 13-9 finished the regular season in third place in the OUA East division while the Blues held the sixth seed. No. 4 Ottawa Gee-Gees take on the No. 5-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs in the other OUA East playoff game.

With the win, the Blues move on to face the top-seed in the East, the Carleton Ravens, in a divisional semi-final match-up on Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Ravens Nest in Ottawa. Game time is set for 3 p.m.

Schutz (Toronto) led all players with 21 points and hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds on the way to recording her sixth consecutive double-double and 10th in last 11 games.

Fourth-year guard and Kingston native Erin McNeely knocked down 18 points on 7-fo-15 shooting, had five boards and four assists, while rookie forward Katelyn McConnell of Whitby, Ont. added 10 points and five rebounds in her first university post-season game.

For the Gaels, Brittany Moore of Hannon, Ont., posted 19 points and registered seven rebounds. Fourth-year forward Erin Skippon, playing in what could be her final game as a Gael, tallied 12 points and contributed nine rebounds.

The two teams were tied heading into halftime at 23 apiece but Toronto exploded for 25 points in the third quarter to open a 10-point lead moving into the final frame.

The Gaels would score six in the opening minutes of the fourth to cut the lead to two and maintained pace with Toronto into the dying minutes. However, McNeely would score five points in the final 1:30 to seal a Toronto victory.

The Blue and White split the season series with the Gaels. Queen’s dismissed Toronto 68-50 on January 8, before the Blues redeemed themselves at home on February 6, downing the Gaels 70-61.

The Blues, who claimed the last playoff spot in the East, finished the regular season at .500 (11-11) and were a disappointing 4-8 on the road. However, Toronto now rides a five games winning streak heading into this weekend.