HICKORY, N.C. –  The fifth-ranked Queens University of Charlotte Royals defeated UVA Wise 22-4 to advance to the South Atlantic Conference Championship finals for the seventh straight year. The win moves the Royals' overall record to an impressive 11-1.
 
Queens was led by Rachel Perrett who was simply too much for the Cavaliers defense to handle overmatching her opponents for nine points on seven goals and two assists. Her seven goals matched the program's single-game record. Not far behind was Kara Blanchard who finished with eight points as she did a little bit of everything, completing the hat trick and dishing out five assists. Shannon Donovan did not miss out on the points' parade as she ended the day with seven points coming by way of four goals and a hat trick of assists. Kyleigh Masteran chipped in five points of her own with two goals and three assists while Ally Blood finished with four points on a goal and three assists. Caroline Pearce added three points with two goals and an assist.
 
The Royals came ready to play today, jumping into full attack mode with UVA Wise not having any answers. The Royals leaped out to an early 4-0 lead after 10 minutes of play, forcing a timeout by the Cavaliers. Unfortunately, for UVA Wise, Queens' unrelenting pace did not slow down but only gained momentum as the half continued. The Cavaliers could not catch their breath as the Royals unleashed another barrage of offensive firepower resulting in four goals in five minutes. At the midway point of the first half, Queens held an 8-0 lead. The last fifteen minutes were not much different as the Royals kept the pressure on UVA Wise and managed to score five more before the halftime whistle. Queens went into the locker room with a comfortable 13-0 lead.
 
In the second, Queens picked up right where they left off as they scored four goals in the opening 10 minutes of play. Having swelled the margin to 15, 17-2, at the 15-minute mark, the Royals looked to solidify their place in the finals and did so with three goals in less than three minutes. Queens then played the final 10 minutes of the contest on cruise control on their way to a thoroughly dominant 22-4 win and a chance to defend their title yet again.
 
Queens outshot UVA Wise, 34-12, and the Royals found the net 29 times as the Cavaliers hit the target 11 times. The Royals cleared the ball 14-of-17 times on the day for an 82 percent success rate while the Cavaliers went 14-of-20 to finish with a 70 percent success rate. Additionally, Queens came away with 22 ground balls as compared to UVA Wise's 18, and the Royals won 19-of -27 draw controls.
 
The Queens Royals will play for the South Atlantic Conference Championship on Sunday, April 25. They will meet either Limestone or Wingate in the final, which is set for a 4 p.m. start.