Women’s team wins tournament with 3-0 record, while men’s team finishes second with 2-1 record
The Concordia Classic Basketball Tournament, which ran from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8, was a success for the Concordia Stingers. The Stingers host the pre-season tournament every year, and this year, six schools sent teams to play in the men’s and women’s tournaments. The Stingers women’s team won the tournament with a 3-0 record, while the men’s team finished in second place with a 2-1 record.
Women’s Team
Forward Ashley Moss, who missed the entire season last year with a knee injury, was named MVP of the tournament. She averaged nine points and 11 rebounds per game, with a field goal percentage of 59 per cent.
Guards Caroline Task and Jazlin Barker were named tournament All-Stars. Task led the team in scoring throughout the tournament, averaging 14.7 points per game. Barker had a dominating performance in their final game against Toronto, stuffing the stat sheet with 21 points, seven assists, three rebounds and five steals.
The tournament opener for the women was against the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) Panthers. This game had a quick start with the Stingers outscoring the Panthers 30-25. From there, Concordia did not let go of the lead and won with a final score of 60-53.
The Stingers’ second game was against the Algoma Thunderbirds, which they won in dominant fashion, 80-38. After the first quarter, the Stingers led 18-3, and by the end of the third quarter they were up by 23. They played well the entire game but especially in the fourth quarter. Everything seemed to be working for them offensively in transition, and their hustle was clear. The Stingers dove for loose balls, caused jump balls and forced turnovers with stout defence. It was a coming-out party for rookie guard Coralie Dumont, as she had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The final game of the tournament was against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Barker stole the show with her 21 points and secured the tournament win. Moss was also instrumental in this win, as she had 10 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocks. Thanks to these strong performances, the Stingers won the game, 73-64.
Men’s Team
The Stingers opened the tournament against the Regina Rams with a convincing 92-74 victory. Concordia’s offence was extremely well balanced, as five players had more than 10 points each. Point guard Ricardo Monge had 16 points and seven assists. Six-foot-seven forward Olivier Simon also had a strong showing, putting up 15 points, grabbing seven rebounds and adding two blocks.
Their second game came against a very strong opponent, Halifax’s Dalhousie Tigers, who finished last season with a record of 16-4. After the first quarter, the game was tied at 16. In the second quarter, the Stingers were able to grab a seven-point lead, but an aggressive half-court press by Dalhousie trimmed that lead to two by halftime.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair, with the lead changing hands on several occasions. Concordia was in the lead for most of the game, but Dalhousie continued to turn to the half-court press to apply pressure and force turnovers. Then, down by two points with 18 seconds left in the game, Dalhousie’s Alex Carson hit a dagger three-point shot to put them up by one. Concordia had time for one more shot but unfortunately missed. They lost a hard fought battle, 72-70.
The third and final game of the tournament for the men’s team came against the York Lions. The Stingers won the game, 85-80. The win was due in no small part to the hot start Concordia got off to, outscoring York 27-14 in the first quarter.
The Stingers were actually outscored in each of the following three quarters by a total of eight points. However, York’s comeback was clearly not enough to erase the 13-point deficit created in the first quarter. The Stingers offence was incredibly well balanced again, with five players scoring in the double digits. Guard Jonathan Koud led his team with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Two Stingers were named tournament All-Stars: Koud and forward/guard Ken Beaulieu. Koud led the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game. Beaulieu was an outstanding sixth man, averaging an even 15 points per game coming off the bench. He provided huge boosts for his team throughout the tournament.
The women’s team plays various pre-season games for the rest of October before starting their season Nov. 9 in a home game against the Bishop’s Gaiters. The men’s team plays in a pre-season tournament at Queen’s University from Oct. 13 to 15, before starting their season Nov. 9 at home against the Bishop’s Gaiters.
Main photo by Alex Hutchins.
