Both Concordia teams defeated the Bishop’s Gaiters on Thursday night
The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team needed a last-second defensive rebound from rookie forward Marvia Dean to seal a 59-55 victory on Nov. 10. The men’s team won a thriller against the Gaiters, 70-67, on a last-second free throw by rookie guard Nicholas Noble.
Women’s Game
The Stingers jumped out to a 12-0 lead, led by the shooting of guard Caroline Task and forward Richelle Grégoire. By the end of the first quarter, the Gaiters had only made four throws and were down 16-4.
In the second quarter, the Stingers saw their large lead slip away due to turnovers. The Gaiters outscored them and the quarter eventually ended with the Stingers up by a score of 28-24.
Late in the third quarter, the Gaiters tied the game up at 31 on a shot by Gaiters guard Edith Noblecilla. The Stingers opened up a six-point lead afterwards. The Gaiters made things interesting before the quarter ended as they scored two late buckets to cut the deficit to two, 38-36.
The fourth quarter started with a bang for the Stingers as they hit three shots from the three-point line in the first minute and half of the quarter. Later in the final quarter, the Gaiters tied the game up at 55.
The Stingers kicked things into gear and scored the last four points of the game to close out the win.
“I preach defense all the time and that’s what kept us in the game, especially when they tied it and got their runs,’’ said Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens. “We made some key stops down the stretch. Also, we made some key shots and free throws which all resulted from our defense.”
Grégoire was the top scorer in the match with 19 points. The Stingers also got a huge game from rookie forward Marvia Dean, who had 15 rebounds—11 of those coming on defence.
Gittens explained that close games, like the one on Thursday, will be common throughout the season.
“Our conference is the top conference in the country, so our next 15 games will be like that,’’ Gittens said.
Men’s game
The beginning of the match went back and forth as both teams tied up the game on three separate occasions. However, before the first quarter ended, a three-pointer by Stingers guard Ken Beaulieu gave the team a 15-13 lead.
In the second quarter, the Gaiters outscored the Stingers 23-17, and took a 36-32 lead going into halftime.
With eight minutes left in the third quarter, Stingers center Michael Fosu tied the game up at 36. The game then went back and forth in the quarter, until Gaiters guard Jona Bermillo hit a three-pointer and added two free throws to give his team a 58-57 lead heading into the final quarter.
The game was tied at 60 with just four minute left in the game. This is when Stingers rookie guard Nicholas Noble hit a three-pointer, giving the team a 63-60 lead. Then, with just over a minute left, Stingers point guard Ricardo Monge hit another three-pointer to seal the win.
Beaulieu led the Stingers with 14 points.
The Stingers were out-rebounded 21-18 in the game which is a concern for the coaching staff.
“One of our focuses for the game tonight was to hit the boards hard on both ends, and I thought that we did not execute that at all tonight which allowed the [Gaiters] to stay in the game,” said Stingers assistant coach Nathan Grant.
Both Stingers teams will now take on the Laval Rouge et Or on Nov. 13.
