The women’s Concordia Stingers basketball team traveled to Manitoba last weekend to play in the Manitoba University annual pre-season tournament, in which they took two of three games.
The tourney featured top caliber teams from around the country including the Calgary Dinosaurs, the Brandon Lady Bobcats, the Queen’s Golden Gaels, and the Winnipeg Wesmen.
The Stingers got off to a winning start, defeating the Lady Bobcats 68-54 in the first game. Guard Marie-Josee Raposo scored 17 points and hauled in six rebounds, and tournament all-star forward Jennifer Neil also recorded six rebounds and contributed 14 points.
Head Coach Pruden was satisfied with the outcome though he had a few reservations. “The game was not as close as the score indicated and we should have beaten them soundly,” he said. “We were not controlled or discipline enough to really bury them.”
The Lady Bobcats made a last minute effort to catch the Stingers but the team withstood the charge. “The key to the game was how we played the last few minutes,” said Pruden. “We stayed calm and did not panic.”
On Saturday the Stingers played the hometown Bisons in a game that was very close, winning 77-69. First-year guard Pascale Morin went 11 for 16 and hit six of eight free throws for 28 points.
“She played extremely well, made very good decisions and took advantage of most of the opportunities they gave her to score,” said Pruden, who admits that his team was much more in control of this game than they were against Brandon.
Second-year guard Tanya Monuma scored 13 and snagged in 10 rebounds, while Roposo continued to shine dropping in 10 and snagging six rebounds. The Stingers went to the free throw line more than twice as much as the Bisons and shot for an astonishing 84 percent.
On Sunday, the Stingers simply ran out of gas in a 68-58 loss to the Wesmen.
“We played them very tough and we were within two [points] until the last four minutes,” reported Pruden. “We ran out of steam and they capitalized. They are very big and athletic.”
The Stingers will participate in the Memorial Tournament next weekend and will begin regular season play on the road on Nov. 16 in a rematch of last years final against Laval.
