Underdog women’s basketball sting the Lancers, defending CIS champions
The Concordia Stingers defeated the defending five-time national champions, the Windsor Lancers, on Friday night in preseason action.
The Stingers stunned Windsor by beating the visiting team, 70-63. This was the second time in the last four years the Stingers have beaten number-one-ranked Lancers at home. They beat Windsor in 2013 at the Concordia-Reebok tournament.
A great game was played by forward Shanica Baker. She had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Stingers had a strong start to the game as they knocked down four straight baskets scored by forward Richelle Gregoire, Shanica Baker, Marilyse Roy-Viau and point guard Tamara Pinard-Devos. The Stingers in the first quarter had 11-2 lead on the Lancers.
The Lancers, led by point guard Caitlyn Longmuir, hit back-to-back three-pointers to chip away at the Stingers huge lead. The end of the first quarter saw the Stingers ahead by four points, 18-14.
The Lancers scored the first points of the second quarter on a basket by center Cheyanne Rodger. The Stingers responded with a three-pointer by rookie point guard, Jessika Joly. Stingers’ Richelle Gregoire dominated the second quarter as she hit back-to-back three pointers at one point. Gregoire finished the quarter with ten points. The Stingers ended the second quarter leading 40-31.
The second half started with a bang as Richelle Gregoire got a three pointer. The Lancers halfway through the third quarter had an 8-0 run to tie the game at 45. The run was led by forward, Andrea Kiss who scored five out of the eight points including a three pointer.
Stingers’ shooting guard, Marie-Eve Martin, hit a late three pointer to increase the Stingers lead. The Lancers were unable to close the gap before the game ended.
Head coach Tenicha Gittens was extremely happy after the huge win. “It’s not every day you have the opportunity to knock off the number one squad in the country. I’m proud of these girls. They made the big shots and got the stops they needed,” Gittens said.
Lancers head coach and Montreal native, Chantal Vallée, was impressed with the Stingers.
“Concordia was well prepared, just wanted to congratulate their coaching staff on an outstanding job tonight,” Vallée said.
Stingers forward Marilyse Roy-Viau was happy about her team performance. “We played our butts off, it’s our best game so far,” Viau said.
