Stingers, Martlets Split

The Concordia Stingers and McGill Martlets added another chapter to their cross-town rivalry over the weekend when they played a home and home series. The Stingers snapped their losing skid with a win on Friday night but fell short of completing the sweep in Saturday’s rematch.
The Martlets were no match for the Stingers in game one. Con U led 10-9 after the first quarter and never looked back, out-scoring their opponents in every quarter en route to a 74-53 victory.
Krystle Douglas, who shot 8 of 21 from the floor, led all scorers with 23 points, adding five rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes. Forward Kristin Portwine had a big night as well, grinding it out down low for 14 points and seven boards.
Concordia out hustled McGill all night long, and they created several fast break opportunities by running the floor, looking for outlet passes and capitalizing on McGill’s mistakes. The Stingers got to more rebounds than the Martlets and had 13 fewer turnovers.
Despite the strong offensive showing, it was the Stinger’s defense that led to the lopsided victory. They were able to contain McGill’s top players and limit their opponent’s opportunities. Guard Nathifa Weekes, usually a major threat, was held to just five of 15 from the floor.
Even when they were up by 20 points with less than three minutes to go, Concordia Coach Keith Pruden refused to let his team slow down, always stressing focus and discipline. “You can never just assume a game is over in this sport, you doze for even a minute and all of the sudden the other team is back into it.”
Pruden was “pleased with the win, but not satisfied,” after the game.
“There’s always something to improve on. Other coaches have told me that on a good day our team could beat anyone in the country, we know that we can win once, now what we need to do is find a way to be consistent every night.”
In the second installment the Stingers came out strong but were not able to overcome the Martlets, falling 72-65.
McGill’s Anneth Him-Lazarenko showed up in a big way on Saturday night, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 boards. At times it seemed as if there was no stopping her as she pounded away in the paint.
For the most part the Martlets were able to keep the Stingers key players in check. Kendra Carrie was held to just five and shot just two of seven from the floor. Douglas led the Stingers in points with 14.
The game was at 62 with just over three minutes to go when the Martlets pulled away, led by Weekes who had 21 points, seven boards, five assists and four steals in 34 minutes. Concordia got into foul trouble early in the fourth quarter. Weekes took advantage, shooting 11 of 13 from the free throw line to put the game out of reach in the closing minutes.
“I just wanted to win,” Weekes said of her effort after the game, “it definitely felt good to come home.” McGill and Concordia are fighting for the last playoff spot, so in many ways this was an important matchup for both teams. “If we want to win we have to be able to our thing night in and night out,” said Weekes.
Interestingly Weekes spent the weekend matched up against a long time friend Ebony Morris, a starting guard for the Stingers. “We’ve been friends since we were kids but have never played for the same team, she went to Vanier and I went to Dawson, now she’s at Concordia and I’m at McGill.” Morris did a good job of containing Weekes in both games, putting in a strong defensive effort.
The Stingers play another home-and-home series against the UQAM Citadins, starting Friday, Jan. 23 at 8:00 p.m. The Stingers then travel to UQAM to square off again on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 5:00p.m.