Concordia’s defense finally gave away in the fourth quarter and Laval came out on top
The Laval Rouge et Or came to Concordia on Thursday night looking to capture their third win of 2015 while the women’s basketball team were trying to rebound from two bad losses last week. The Rouge et Or fought off the pesky Stingers and prevailed with a 72-63 win. The Stingers shot over 35 per cent from the field during the game, but it wasn’t enough to challenge the Rouge et Or.
Laval had a great start to the game with a 6-0 run started by forward Justine Guay-Bilodeau. The Stingers struggled earlier, missing baskets until the 5:47 mark of the first quarter when Stingers forward Richelle Gregoire went beyond the arc and hit a three-pointer. At the end of the first quarter the Stingers trailed 15-8.
The Stingers scored the first points of the second quarter on a basket by guard Aurelie d’Anjou Drouin. A minute later, the Rouge et Or scored their first points of the quarter on a basket by forward Jane Gagné. The Stingers scored six unanswered points to respond and pressured Laval for the first time in the game. However, the visiting powerhouse increased their lead to seven points after a three-pointer by guard Gabrielle Girard with 36 seconds left in the quarter, momentarily stealing the momentum from Concordia. As time was expiring, Stingers guard Daphne Thouin drained a three-pointer to make it a four-point game, 27-23 at halftime.
Concordia got their first basket of the third quarter on a three-pointer by Gregoire and the Stingers came out ready to compete after the break. In the third quarter, Concordia battled back and tied the game twice. The first time was at 31 when Gregoire drained another three-pointer and the second time was when Kaylah Barrett got a basket to knot the game at 33. Gregoire was unflappable from the three-point arc and gave her team their first lead of the game. The competitive pace continued as the Rouge et Or came storming back and tied the game at 46 with 28 seconds left in the quarter on two free throws by Gagné.
Laval opened the last frame with two straight baskets by forward, Marilyn Bariault, which started a 6-0 run for Laval. The Stingers got their first basket of the fourth quarter on a basket by Marilyse-Roy Viau two minutes into quarter, but they couldn’t keep up with Laval.
The Rouge et Or had a 5-0 run midway through the fourth quarter which included a three-pointer by Raphaelle Cote that helped Laval pull away. Concordia fought hard throughout the game but got behind too many times during the game and couldn’t recover in the end.
Stingers head coach, Keith Pruden, was not happy about his team defense after the match, especially how they fell apart in the final quarter.
”Our defense was on and off in the fourth quarter, [and] it can’t be. We turned the ball over way too much,” Pruden said.
