Stingers set to tip off regular season

Call it the circle of Concordia athletics life: While one team ranked for the entire season just had their season come to an end, another team that is ranked in the national top-10 takes to the court for their first regular season games this weekend.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams kick off their season at the Concordia Gym this Friday with the men tipping off at 6 p.m. and the women at 8 p.m.
Both teams, while playing their first regular season games, have been preparing with exhibition tournaments.
The men’s team, opening the season ranked No. 3 nationally, is coming back from a bus tour that saw them go to Vermont, Rhode Island and Utah in a week and a half.
While the Stingers went 0-4 in those four games, their trips to the United States have always been about more than just wins and losses. This year, it allows a team with several newcomers, who are expected to play key roles off the bench. to bond with their core group of veterans.
Against Canadian opponents, the Stingers through five games have yet to lose, including two tournament wins coming against teams from all of the Canadian conferences, except their home Quebec conference.
Concordia will look towards the return of Dwayne Buckley as one of the reasons they should contend in the Quebec championship this year. They lost the Quebec championship to the Laval Rouge et Or last year when Buckley missed the entire season.
Also returning for the Stingers is last year’s Concordia male athlete of the year and CIS All-Canadian point guard Damian Buckley.
Friday evening’s game against the UQAM Citadins will be Concordia’s first on home court since October’s Nike Tournament, which they won in an overtime thriller over No. 6 St. FX. On Saturday they will face the Citadins in a rematch at 7:00 p.m. in downtown Montreal.
The women’s basketball team also had a busy pre-season that saw them face three of the top teams in the country.
The Stingers went 2-6 in eight exhibition games beating Trinity Western and Western Ontario. Four of the six games they lost were against teams currently ranked in the national top-10: No. 1 Alberta, No. 2 Simon Fraser and twice against No. 8 Regina. On Friday and Saturday, like the men’s team, they will play a home-and-home against UQAM who is ranked at No. 9.
The Stingers will look to build off of last year’s fantastic second half, when they improved from an 0-4 start to finish at 8-8, making the playoffs and losing to UQAM in the Quebec semi-final.
Yasmin Jean-Philippe, who established herself as a scoring threat, will be returning, as will point guard Krystle Douglas and veterans Kristin Portwine, Felon Harris and Ebony Morris.
The women’s team will also be playing at 5:00 p.m. at UQAM on Saturday.