Stingers fall apart in the fourth quarter in the RSEQ Final Four and lose to the Citadins
The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins have been the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team’s toughest opponent for the last two seasons. On Thursday, March 6, the two teams met in the semifinals of the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Final Four for the second straight year.
UQAM defeated Concordia 54-47, ending the Stingers’ season. The Stingers shot a horrendous 25.6 per cent as they only made 16 of their 63 shot attempts. Citadins centre Jessica Lubin was the best player on the court as she had big presence in the paint, scoring 21 points and 20 rebounds in the victory.
The Stingers scored the first four points of the game by the fourth minute mark on back-to-back baskets by forward Marilyse Roy-Viau. At one point, The Stingers had all the momentum as they were up 12-2 after uncontested three-pointers by forward Richelle Gregoire. However, the Citadins went on a run to end the opening quarter and cut Concordia’s lead to 14-11.
The Citadins scored first in the second quarter on a free throw by guard Queteline Celestin that came two minutes into the quarter. The Citadins cut the Stingers lead to one point on three separate occasions, but the Stingers kept answering back punch for punch. The Stingers took their biggest lead of the quarter when Gregoire hit her third three-pointer of the game, which increased Concordia’s lead to four points, but by the end of the first half, the Stingers clung to a 25-23 lead.
The Citadins scored the first points of the second half on a basket by Lubin which tied the game at 25. The two teams put on an offensive display in the third quarter. After both teams struggled to find the basket for most of the game, both teams were about to open the game up.
The Citadins took their first lead of the game at 29 on a basket by Lubin, but the Stingers tied the game at 29 on basket by Daphne Thouin. The quarter ended with the Citadins scoring six unanswered points to take a 42-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The turning point in the game was when UQAM scored eight straight points in six minutes in the fourth quarter. After keeping their rivals in-check throughout the game, the Stingers were overpowered in the final frame.
The Stingers finished the season with a mediocre record of 7-10, but a couple of Concordia’s players had a big impact on the RSEQ this season. Playing in her final game as a Stinger, Barrett finished second in scoring throughout the league and was named to the second-team all-star squad. Not to be outdone, Roy-Viau was named a first-team all-star after leading the province in scoring with 252 points.
