The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins battled for a third straight game on Sunday afternoon at the Concordia Gym. The Stingers avenged their loss from Jan. 8 with a convincing 71-54 victory.
It was the Stingers’s annual Shoot for the Cure game. Since its first event in 2007, the campaign has raised more than $1.3 million. The Shoot for the Cure game is part of the eight Signature Series events presented by the Stingers in 2019-20.
The Citadins got a good start in the first quarter, taking an early 10-point lead. However, the Stingers gained momentum at the end of the quarter and never let the visitors control the game again. Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens said the team just kept things simple.
“Our players listened,” Gittens said. “They just executed the game plan, and took advantage of their [Citadins] mistakes. I think we did a good job on both ends of the floor.”
The Stingers scored 27 of their 71 points in the second quarter, taking a 40-28 lead at halftime. While it was the most points that either team scored during any quarter of the game, Gittens said she didn’t think that quarter secured her team the win.
“I think that we played a very good game overall,” Gittens said. “You can win the second quarter and lose the game. You can say that it started through the first quarter. We picked it up, and were able to score and do things defensively. We put four quarters together.”
Gittens said her team was undisciplined when it lost its previous game to the Citadins. She said her players weren’t intense or showing energy.
“Those are things we can control,” Gittens said. “That’s one thing to play a great game and just lose. That last game, we didn’t play the way we’re practicing, and preparing every single day. This last Thursday and Friday at practice, it was as intense as if we were playing like today.”
Stingers’s point guard Caroline Task scored 26 points in the victory, in addition to grabbing four rebounds. Gittens said it makes other players’ jobs easier when she plays that well.
“Myriam Leclerc had to do a lot on the offensive end of the floor, in terms of executing and getting people to the right place,” Gittens said. “It makes a huge difference when Task comes in and delivers shots like that. Our players did their job [today].”
The Stingers will play McGill on Jan. 23 at the Concordia Gym. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
