Tag: women’s basketball

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Stingers team finishes second, despite improved record

(Photo Madelayne Hajek)

Looking back on the 2012-13 women’s basketball season, the Concordia Stingers can be proud.

The season before, the Stingers finished the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec conference in second place and fell to the McGill Martlets in the championship playoff game. They suffered the exact same fate this year.

(Photo Madelayne Hajek)

Concordia started the season in November with four straight wins. Their first loss came against the Laval Rouge et Or on Nov. 30 when the Stingers fell 50-49 in Quebec City. The Stingers managed to find themselves on the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top 10 rankings at one point.

For the rest of the season, the maroon and gold had a tough time putting more than two wins in a row together. A three-game winning streak in February was their next best run.

The team finished the season with 11 wins and five losses. This was an improvement on last season’s 8-8 record. Last year, an 11-5 record was good enough for first place. Just as Concordia improved, so did McGill who finished two wins ahead.

In the playoffs the Stingers had home court advantage in the semi-finals. They hosted the UQÀM Citadins at Concordia Gym on Feb. 27. In the regular season, Concordia won all four meetings between the two sides. The playoffs were not different. ConU won 65-62 and had a chance to face McGill once again in the finals.

After trailing most the game, the Stingers had a strong fourth quarter comeback and were only down by a basket with 17 seconds to go in the game. The Martlets hung on for a slim 51-48 victory.

The Stingers’ strong season did not go unnoticed at a provincial and national level. Guard Kaylah Barrett was named to the CIS first all-Canadian team for the second consecutive year. First-year forward Marilyse Roy-Viau was selected for the national all-Rookie team.

Provincially, Barrett was named conference MVP for the second straight year. She also was a first team all-star for the third consecutive season. Roy-Viau was named as a second team all-star and also made the all-Rookie team. First year guard Tamara Pinard-Devos was also won RSEQ all-Rookie honours.

It was not just players collecting silverware. Head coach Keith Pruden won RSEQ Coach of the Year. Concordia had a young team this season. Five of 12 players on the team were rookies. Three more were sophomores. Pruden did well to recruit these rookies and showed plenty of confidence towards them all season long.

Given the team’s success this past season, Pruden will be able to keep the same team for the next few years. The women’s basketball team has a bright future ahead, having already showed their potential this past season.

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Concordia fall by three to rivals

(Photo Madelayne Hajek)

 

The Stingers came out strong early in the first quarter as they took a quick 8-4 lead. (Photo Madelayne Hajek)

The Concordia Stingers fell 51-48 in the RSEQ championship game against the McGill Martlets in a heartbreaking loss, despite their late comeback attempt in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon at McGill Gymnasium.

The Stingers came out strong early in the first quarter as they took a quick 8-4 lead. However, when the Martlets tied it up at 6:22, and then took their first lead 11-8 shortly after, McGill never looked back.

Stingers point guard Ashley Clarke’s two-points on a breakaway with 3:30 left in the first quarter cut the Martlet’s lead to 11-10.

One minute later, McGill forward Anneth Him-Lazarenko picked up a rebound off a missed basket to give them a 13-10 lead.

The Martlets lead 19-12 at the end of the first.

Lazarenko gave her team a 23-17 lead when she picked up another rebound for the two-point basket about halfway through the second quarter.

The Stingers replied with two quick baskets by Tamara Pinard-Devos and Tina Mpondani, respectively, making it 23-21 Martlets.

McGill finished the second quarter strong scoring nine-straight points. They had a 32-23 lead at the half.

Stingers point guard Arianne Duchesne three-pointer with 6:37 left in the third quarter, cut McGill’s lead to four points and put Concordia right back in the game. The Martlets finished the frame strong and took a 42-34 lead after three quarters.

Less than one minute into the fourth quarter, Stingers guard Kaylah Barrett received her fifth foul of the afternoon and was fouled out for the remainder of the game.

“I think [losing Barrett] hurt her more than it hurt anybody else,” said Concordia head coach Keith Pruden. “She’s such a competitor. It was painful for her; it was painful for the rest of the team. She’s a big chunk of our offence. But, it happens.”

With just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Stingers began their attempt at a comeback. For the first seven minutes of the frame, Concordia went on a 8-2 run, making it a two-possession game.

In the final minute, Concordia’s Marilyse Roy-Viau made it a three-point game. After an intentional foul to stop the clock, Roy-Viau scored once again to make it two-point lead with 17 seconds to play.

That’s as close as the Stingers would get. McGill narrowly won the game 51-48, and the title, in front of their home fans.

“We had trouble scoring,” Pruden said following the game. “We shot poorly from the three-point line. We didn’t shoot particularly well from the floor. And we were only five-for-11 on the free-throw line. Full credit to McGill for playing good defence.”

“I told my kids I’m very proud of how tough we were at the end,” he continued. “[But] you’ve got to make some shots. We missed the opportunities that we got. We lost because we couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”

This capped off an impressive season from the Stingers, which saw them break into the CIS Top 10 ranking earlier this season. This is the second consecutive season Concordia falls to the Martlets in the RSEQ Championship game.

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Stingers close season with win and a loss

In their final two matches of the season, the Concordia Stingers women's basketball team finished with a win and an overtime loss

In their final two matches of the season, the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team finished with a win and an overtime loss. In the first game of the week, the Stingers hosted the Bishop’s Gaiters at Concordia Gym on Thursday night. Two days later, Concordia travelled to Quebec City to face the Laval Rouge et Or.

Against the Gaiters, the maroon and gold got off to a flying start. Guard Ashley Clarke had the hot hand, scoring 10 points straight in a

In their final two matches of the season, the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team finished with a win and an overtime loss

span of five minutes. She finished the game with 21 points, playing a total of 25 minutes. Concordia’s strong quarter gave the team a 22-8 lead going into the second.

Continuing their dominance from the first quarter, the Stingers went on a 15-0 run in the first five minutes of the second. The home team led as much as 24 points. The Gaiters slowly started to hit a few baskets and suddenly scored nine unanswered points to reduce the deficit.

By halftime, Concordia still had a comfortable 15 point lead, 34-19.

As the score suggested, it looked like it was going to be another relatively easy win for the Stingers. In three games against Bishop’s this season, ConU had a perfect 3-0 record and won by an average of 18 points.

In the third quarter, the Stingers kept up their high-tempo offence. Halfway through the frame, their 24 point lead was restored. But much like the end of the second quarter, thanks to some unforced turnovers from the Stingers, the Gaiters managed to cut the deficit to 16 points.

Both teams went back and forth in the final quarter. With just over two minutes to go, Concordia had their largest lead of the game. A seven point run saw them jump up to a 25 point lead. As the final buzzer went, the Stingers won handily 70-51.

After Clarke’s team-leading 21 points, guard Kaylah Barrett added 13 points. Five other ConU players had more than five points each. Center Serginha Estime pulled down eight of the team’s 40 rebounds.

Despite the result, Stingers head coach Keith Pruden still believes his team needs to tighten up on defence and not give up easy turnovers on offence.

“We have to be more consistent at both ends,” he said. “We can’t afford to give people the kind of easy looks we gave up in the fourth quarter for example. We just can’t give up those kinds of transition layups. We certainly can’t turn the ball over as often. We got to hold the turnovers to under a dozen for the game, otherwise we’re giving teams quality opportunities to score.”

On Saturday against the Rouge et Or, an overtime was needed to find a winner. Laval pulled off a 67-62 win. Despite the result, Concordia’s loss had no effect on the standings. The Stingers still finished in second place in the RSEQ conference.

“I’m okay with where we are at right now, but we’re not playing exactly how I want to,” said Pruden. “We’re going to have to tune some stuff for the playoffs.”

 

Concordia will face the UQÀM Citadins in the first round of the playoffs this Wednesday at Concordia Gym. The Stingers have won all four season meetings against the Citadins this season. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

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Stingers narrowly beat last place Gaiters

Marilyse Roy-Viau and Ashley Clarke led the offence with 13 and 12 points, respectively, as the Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team beat the Bishop’s Gaiters, 62-54, at home on Saturday afternoon.

With just under six minutes left in the first quarter, Clarke was left alone behind the three-point line and made no mistake sinking her shot to give Concordia a 12-3 lead.

The Stingers led 18-11 with one minute left in the first quarter when Richelle Gregoire missed both her free-throw attempts. However, she made up for her failed attempts seconds after the Gaiters added a basket. Gregoire outmuscled two Gaiters inside the key to score two points and give the Stingers a 20-13 lead.

The first quarter saw the Stingers up 22-13.

Earlier in the first quarter, Stingers guard Kaylah Barrett bumped heads with Bishop’s Gabrielle Chamberland and was not able to finish the game. However, she is expected to start on Thursday against McGill.

“Players fall out, players get hurt, it’s a reality,” said Concordia head coach Keith Pruden. “We have lots of offensive firepower. We just weren’t very sensible about how to adapt.”

The Stingers went on an offensive outburst in the second quarter. Gregoire received a pass from Clarke to make it 25-15 at 7:35.

About one minute later, Concordia’s Clarke and Alex Boudreau each hit three-pointers to give the home Stingers team a 35-17 lead.

Concordia ended the second quarter with a comfortable 16-point lead. They led the Gaiters 41-25.

Despite the big lead, the Stingers offence struggled in the second half, resulting in a slim win. The maroon and gold were outscored 29-21 in the final two frames.

With under one minute to play in the third, Boudreau scored her second three-pointer of the game, giving the Stingers a 54-37 lead. Bishop’s added a basket to end the quarter. Concordia enjoyed a 15-point lead going into the final frame.

Bishop’s kept Concordia to an eight point difference in the fourth quarter. After the Stingers’ Roy-Viau’s successful jump shot to make it 62-48, the Gaiters went on to score six straight points. Concordia’s lead was too much to handle for the visitors, as the maroon and gold won the game 62-54.

“We did some good things in the first half, but it was pretty sloppy in the second half,” said Pruden. “Bishop’s is playing with absolutely nothing to lose and everything to win. They shot the ball very well. I wasn’t very happy with our defensive intensity in the second half. I also wasn’t very happy with our offensive execution in the second half.”

Concordia has now won two consecutive games. They are currently tied for first in the league with McGill and UQÀM. On Thursday Jan. 24 the Stingers will host the Martlets at Concordia Gymnasium. The season series is tied at one win apiece. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

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An up-and-down week for Stingers women’s basketball

Photo by Madelayne Hajek
Photo by Madelayne Hajek

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team took to the court twice this past week with games against McGill and UQÀM. The team had an away game to the Martlets on Thursday night and returned home to face the Citadins on Saturday afternoon.

The Stingers went to McGill full of confidence after a highly successful Concordia-Reebok tournament over the winter break. In the tournament, they defeated the CIS number one and number five ranked teams. These results earned Concordia the number eight spot in the country.

Against the Martlets, it was a far different Concordia team. McGill was hot shooting from the behind-the-ark, sinking eight of their 15 three-point attempts compared to the Stingers’ one successful three pointer. A strong second half secured a 75-44 win for the Martlets.

“McGill came out exactly as I expected,” said Stingers head coach Keith Pruden. “They played hard, they played well, they were very aggressive and we just appeared to be surprised.”

The first quarter was closely contested for seven of the quarter’s 10 minutes. With the Stingers up by a basket, McGill went on an 8-0 scoring run in the final three minutes to secure a six point advantage after one.

In the second quarter, Concordia tried to regain momentum, but to no avail. With 2:30 to play in the quarter, the game was a one possession game as McGill’s lead was slashed down to three points. The Martlets once again got hot in the final minutes and ended up taking a 12 point lead with them into the halftime break. McGill was up 37-25.

The third quarter squashed any hopes of a Stingers comeback victory. For the first four minutes of the frame, both teams added two baskets each to their totals. Concordia would not add any more for the remainder of the quarter. The Martlets scored 18 unanswered points and grabbed a 30 point lead going into the final quarter.

“It didn’t really matter who we put on the floor,” said Pruden. “We were getting very flat performances.”

Both teams traded baskets in the fourth quarter. McGill ended Concordia’s miserable outing, winning by a final score of 75-44.

“We shot the ball extremely poorly,” Pruden said following the game. “McGill was playing a very aggressive defence. If you’re flat on one end of the court, you can’t expect to be intense at the other end of it. We were not taking care of the ball and we weren’t making sure we were getting good shots.”

Two days later, the Stingers played host to RSEQ’s first place team, the UQÀM Citadins. Concordia won the game after a great fourth quarter performance. With six and a half minutes left in the game, UQÀM had a five point lead. The maroon and gold’s strong defence denied the Citadins any more baskets. The Stingers went on a 15-0 run to end the game and win 67-57.

With the victory on Saturday, Concordia regained first place in the RSEQ conference. The team now has five wins and two losses in their seven games played this season.

Concordia will continue its three-game home stretch next Saturday, Jan. 19 when they host the last place and winless Bishop’s Gaiters. The game will start at 2 p.m. at Concordia Gymnasium.

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Stingers win the annual Concordia-Reebok tournament

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team edged out the McGill Martlets, 72-63. File photo.

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team went undefeated playing as the hosts of the annual Concordia-Reebok tournament at the Concordia Gymnasium from Dec. 28-30.

The tournament consisted of four teams; two schools from Quebec and two schools from Ontario. The Stingers welcomed RSEQ rivals McGill Martlets, Canada’s number one ranked Windsor Lancers and number five ranked Carleton Ravens.

Concordia won the tournament after beating Carleton 60-57 on Dec. 28 and Windsor 75-74 on Dec. 29. The Stingers’ victory over the Lancers was the first time Concordia has beat the country’s number one ranked team.

In the first game of the tournament, Concordia and Carleton squared off. The Ravens, currently first place in the OUA East conference, have already defeated the Stingers this year in the pre-season.

In the first quarter, both teams exchanged points until the final seconds. The visitors pulled ahead in the second quarter. Just a bit past the midway point of the quarter, Carleton had their biggest lead of the game, 13 points. The Stingers rallied back and brought the game to a four point difference at halftime. The Ravens led 35-31.

The Stingers were unable to make up any ground on Carleton in the third quarter. The Ravens jumped up to a 50-41 lead going into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was a different story for the maroon and gold. Two minutes into the quarter, ConU went on a nine-point scoring streak, tying the ball game up at 52-52 with 4:25 left to play. After a tense few final minutes, Concordia secured the victory with two free-throws in the last seconds to win 60-57.

The following day, the Stingers were back at it, this time against the country’s top team, the Windsor Lancers. In the first quarter, the Lancers found themselves with an eight point lead halfway through. Concordia was able to bounce back and regain control of the game.

In the second frame, the Stingers dictated the pace and had a 31-30 lead at the break.

The Lancers would continue to push for the lead, but the Stingers stayed strong in the third quarter.

In the final quarter of the game, the Lancers led as much as five points. ConU was resilient and quickly caught up. After four quarters, the score was tied at 67-67. Overtime was required to find a winner.

In the nail-biting five minutes of overtime, Windsor had a two-point lead with 35 seconds remaining. After a Stingers timeout, Ashley Clarke missed her jumper with 13 seconds to play. ConU’s Tamara Pinard-Devos came up with a massive offensive rebound giving Clarke one last chance to win the game. With one second left, Clarke nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Concordia the 75-74 win.

“The Carleton game had no bearing on the Windsor one,” said Stingers head coach Keith Pruden. “We were disappointed, and frankly angry, with the result of our game against Carleton in October. We knew we could beat them, so I don’t believe it really affected our confidence the next day. The team were excited about the opportunity to play Windsor.”

The Stingers are looking to use this strong tournament performance in their regular season games, which start up again this week with a game against McGill on Thursday and UQÀM on Saturday.

“It may not translate into success in the rest of our league season,” said Stingers head coach Keith Pruden. “It will depend entirely on how the team decides to approach things. We’ve been stressing the importance of using the result as motivation to work harder and do more – not to sit back and rest on the laurels of the tournament.”

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Tough weekend for Stingers basketball at Laval

Kaylah Barrett

To close out the calendar year, both Stingers basketball teams travelled to Quebec City to face the Laval Rouge et Or on Friday night. The women’s team lost 50-49 in the first game, while the men didn’t fare any better, losing 72-68 in the later game.

Women’s game

The women’s basketball team headed into this encounter with a perfect 4-0 record. The undefeated record was worthy of the number 10

Kaylah Barrett

rank in the country.

This was the second time Concordia and Laval met this season. On Nov. 15, the Stingers claimed a 64-58 victory against the Rouge et Or at Concordia Gymnasium. The maroon and gold held on after a late fourth quarter collapse.

In this game, the Rouge et Or quickly found themselves up 8-2 halfway through the first quarter. The Stingers would battle back and tie the game at 16 points at the end of the first 10 minutes.

The second quarter was much of the same. It was mostly a one possession game as both sides traded baskets. The first half ended with the Stingers up 27-26.

Concordia’s halftime lead would not last long. The Rouge et Or started to pull away, going on a 13-3 run to end the third quarter. After three quarters, Laval was up 43-32. The 11-point difference was the largest of the game.

The Stingers wouldn’t quit in the final frame. Concordia slowly chipped away at their deficit and managed to make it a two-possession game with three minutes to go. With 25 seconds left in the game, ConU was still down by five points. The team managed to hit two three-pointers, but two Laval free-throws ensured the 50-49 victory.

 

Men’s game

The men’s basketball team was coming off a one-point loss to McGill last week. They were hoping to get back to winning ways against the Rouge et Or, a team they’ve already defeated 90-62 back on Nov. 15.

In this game, both teams were tied after the first quarter, with a 14-14 score. Concordia had a slim lead for most of the frame. Laval kept up with the Stingers thanks to their forward René-Pier Mathieu who scored 10 points for the Rouge et Or.

Concordia came out strong in the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run to start the frame. Laval would fight back by holding the Stingers scoreless for four straight minutes. The Rouge et Or had a 29-28 lead going into the break.

The game stayed close for most of the third quarter. Halfway through, the home team started to pull ahead. With less than one minute to play in the quarter, Laval had a 10-point lead. The lead would only be eight points after 30 minutes.

The Rouge et Or was able to defend this lead throughout the entire fourth quarter. A three-pointer with less than two minutes to play gave Laval a 12-point lead, their largest of the game. The Stingers fought back in the final 60 seconds, holding the Rouge et Or to two points. Unfortunately, ConU’s nine points were insufficient as Laval held on to a 72-68 victory.

 

Both of Concordia’s basketball teams will play their next RSEQ league game on Jan. 10 against McGill. During the break, the women’s team will play as hosts in the Concordia-Reebok Tournament at the end of December. The men’s team will play three exhibition games from Jan. 2 – 5 against American universities.

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Concordia defeats rivals and improves record to 4-0

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team edged out the McGill Martlets, 72-63. File photo.

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team edged out the McGill Martlets, 72-63, in a back-and-forth game. Concordia is now undefeated with four wins and no losses.

Right from the tip off the Stingers caught McGill off-guard, scoring the game’s first 15 points thanks to their swarming zone defence and their deadly three point accuracy.

“My shots were going in and we were just playing good as a team,” said Stingers forward Richelle Gregoire.

Midway through the first quarter, Martlets’ centre Valérie L’Ecuyer fell down hard on her ankle and didn’t return to the game. This gave Concordia a clear advantage.

“You don’t like to say things like that,” said Stingers coach Keith Pruden. “But yes, that made our job a little bit easier.”

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team edged out the McGill Martlets, 72-63.

The Stingers went on to outscore the Martlets in the first quarter with a score of 23-9.

“I was very pleased with how we started but at no point did I think we were going to blow them out,” said Pruden.

The second quarter was a different story. After a few adjustments made on both offense and defense by McGill, the Martlets were able to cut the Stingers’ lead down to three points, in part thanks to Anneth Him-Lazarenko’s 12 first-half points. The score at the half was 34-31.

The story was more of the same in the third quarter as McGill’s dominant post game paired with bench player Marie-Pier Bastrash’s sudden hot hand helped them take the lead, for the first time of the game and into the fourth quarter by a score of 52-50.

However in the fourth quarter the Stingers regained their confidence that had propelled them on their first quarter run. Coach Pruden was satisfied with his team’s performance.

“I expected McGill to make it close but we found a way to win,” he said.

In the fourth quarter, Gregoire hit a quick three to help Concordia regain the lead. From there, Concordia never looked back. Led by Kaylah Barrett’s team high 21 points, the Stingers ended up winning the quarter by a score of 22-11 leading them to the victory over the Martlets.

“It’s my job to pick up my team and go forward. I vibe off everyone’s energy,” said Barrett. “If we’re all doing well together, it’s all just a continuous thing.”

“We’re going to try to keep improving,” said coach Pruden. “I do think we’re better than last year.”

 

The Stingers will hope to remain undefeated before heading into the winter break with a final game at Laval on Nov. 30. Tip off against the Rouge et Or is at 6 p.m..

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Concordia stays perfect with win over Laval

Stingers rookies Marilyse Roy-Viau and Kaylah Barrett led the offense as Concordia survived a late collapse to earn a victory against the Laval Rouge et Or in a close home game on Thursday night.

The game started with both teams exchanging baskets early on. Concordia would grab its first lead when guard Alex Boudreau dribbled past the Rouge et Or defense at six minutes to put the Stingers up 9-7.

Barrett widened her team’s lead as she stole the ball from Rouge et Or guard Elyse Jobin to score a basket on a breakaway a few minutes later. Barrett ended the quarter on a good note, as her layup basket in the dying seconds gave Concordia a narrow 19-16 lead.

Barrett and Roy-Viau each had a strong opening quarter. Barrett finished the frame with 10 points, four of which came from the free-throw line. Roy-Viau finished the quarter with seven points. She hit a three-pointer early and added four points from the line. The Stingers took advantage of the Rouge et Or’s undisciplined defence by making all eight of their free-throws.

The Rouge et Or didn’t waste time regaining the lead in the second quarter. The visitors went on a 7-0 scoring run to lead 23-19 after the first two minutes. Laval was able to hold onto this lead until the half, when they were up 34-29.

“The first half wasn’t so good [for us],” said Concordia point guard Ashley Clarke. “We were just chipping up shots and we were making bad decisions on offense. Overall on offense, we were a little chaotic in the first half.”

The Stingers’ strong second half was the difference in this game. In the first minute of the third quarter, after she scored a three-pointer to close the Rouge et Or’s lead to 34-32, Roy-Viau tied the game up with two successful free-throw attempts.

The Stingers reclaimed the lead at 7:51 when Roy-Viau scored yet another free-throw to make it 35-34 Stingers, and the team never looked back.

With the Stingers up 45-40 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter, forward Richelle Gregoire was able to pick up her own missed basket to score two points on the rebound. Concordia had a seven-point lead at the end of three quarters.

The fourth quarter was a rollercoaster ride. With just under five minutes left, after Barrett scored a three-pointer to put Concordia up 59-49, the Rouge et Or began their short-lived comeback.

Laval responded by going on a nine-point scoring run. With one minute left in the game, the Stingers suddenly found themselves up by just one point, 59-58. Concordia closed out the game by adding five points for the 64-58 win.

“We were okay [tonight],” said Stingers head coach Keith Pruden. “There were times we looked very, very good but the goal is to play [consistently] for 40 minutes; not five minutes on, five minutes off.”

“I feel we need to come more together as a team,” Clarke said. “We need to be able to get the momentum back. [Basketball] is a momentum game. As soon as they get momentum, it’s their game and as soon as we get momentum it’s our game. So, we always want to try to keep that momentum.”

On Saturday evening, the Stingers travelled to Bishop’s to face the Gaiters. Concordia won the game 63-42. Gregoire, Clarke, Roy-Viau and Barrett all scored over 10 points in the 21-point victory. Concordia now has a perfect 3-0 record to start the season.

 

This week, Concordia will return home to face the McGill Martlets on Saturday, Nov. 24 at Concordia Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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Stingers unable to compete against Canada’s best

Kaylah Barrett’s 34 points weren’t enough to upset Regina. Photo by Josh Schaefer

The road to the top is not often a straight one. The women’s basketball team understood that after they lost to McGill on March 2 in the RSEQ finals, but were given a second chance to make it to Calgary for the national championship, that is, if they won the West Regional tournament in Saskatoon.

However, they did not. Goliath won against David and their game against the number one team in the country, the University of Regina, ended as most would have predicted.

Regina’s Cougars didn’t take long to start their engine, leading the Stingers 6-0 halfway through the first quarter, taking their opportunities from Concordia’s missed chances. The Stingers were trailing behind, and had to fight an uphill battle to make their way back into the game.

Then, it was another episode of  “The Kaylah Barrett Show” that started as this year’s MVP took it upon herself to carry the team, taking the Stingers to within eight after the first quarter.

Barrett continued her one-man show into the second quarter. With the help of teammates Tina Mpondani  and Anne-Marie Prophete, Concordia battled a very skilled Regina team but continued to struggle trailing 39-26 at halftime.

The Cougars stretched their lead in the beginning of the third quarter, as both forward Lindsay Ledingham and guard Michelle Clark made three-point jump shots 30 seconds apart, making it 47-26 for Regina. Despite Barrett, Prophete and Mpondani’s combined efforts, the Cougars finished the third quarter with a comfortable 21-point lead of the Stingers.

The Stingers were unable to rally on time in the fourth quarter, despite Barrett’s tremendous 16 points, and lost 73-60.

Kaylah Barrett led the team in this ultimate game with an impressive 34 points. Anne-Marie Prophete finished with 11 points and Magalie Beaulieu with six points.

This loss put a definite end to a season that started with great expectations, but was dismantled with ups and downs and injuries. What is left now is to reflect on a season that could have been so much more and look forward to next season.

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Stingers head to Prairies for must-win game

After losing in the RSEQ finals to McGill on Friday night, the Concordia women’s basketball team finds itself down, but not out.

Kaylah Barrett led Concordia by Bishop's but the Stingers fell to McGill later in the week. Photo by Navneet Pall

Given the format of CIS women’s basketball, Concordia will have an opportunity to play in a four-team consolation tournament going on in Saskatoon from March 9 to 10. Whichever team wins the two-game, single-elimination tournament earns a seed at the national championships in Calgary.

Concordia will be facing the University of Regina on Friday night and if they win, they will face the winner of the other semi-final game, either Brock or the University of Saskatchewan, in the finals. Concordia will be in tough however, as Regina was the No. 1 ranked team in the country, but was upset in the Canada West final against UBC.

If the Stingers run the table in the tournament, they will head to nationals in Calgary beginning on March 17. A loss sends Concordia home to reflect on a season that was perfect after six games, before an injury-filled, tumultuous second half began to derail the team.

Much like the regular season, the RSEQ playoffs were a roller-coaster ride for the Stingers.

Beginning last Tuesday night, Concordia was facing Bishop’s at Concordia’s gym.

The Gaiters jumped out to an early 24-7 lead after the first quarter, silencing the home crowd, and filling the gym with an uneasy tension amongst the Stinger faithful. It looked as though Concordia would be playing its final game of the season.

Then “the Kaylah Barrett Show” began. The league’s MVP took the team on her shoulders and led the Stingers back into the game.

Barrett scored 10 of her game-high 21 points in the second quarter. She was also a menace on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds in the game, six coming at the offensive end of the floor. Concordia outscored Bishop’s 20-7 in the frame and had retaken all the momentum and pulled to within three points at halftime.

Concordia would never look back. The Stingers amassed a nine-point lead by the end of the third quarter en route to the 65-53 victory.

Playing in the RSEQ finals on Friday in the home gym of crosstown rival McGill, it was a similar situation for Concordia. The Stingers once again found themselves down early, trailing 16-6 after the first quarter. Unlike against Bishop’s, though, the Stingers couldn’t make the same surge against the first-place Martlets.

Concordia went into halftime trailing by 14 and fell behind further in the third quarter. To the Stingers’ credit, they played hard until the very end, outscoring McGill 20-8 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late as McGill won the game 56-49 to clinch its first RSEQ championship since 1996, and secure a berth in the national championships.

Kaylah Barrett again led Concordia in scoring with 24 points. Natasha Raposo came off the bench and scored 13 points in just 17 minutes on the court.

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Playoffs a chance for Concordia to hit the refresh button

Kaylah Barrett battled injuries and still won RSEQ mvp. Photo by Navneet Pall

It was a tale of two seasons for the Concordia women’s basketball team. A 6-0 start was accompanied with a 2-8 finish, leaving the Stingers with an 8-8 record, and a second place finish in the RSEQ.

Kaylah Barrett battled injuries and still won RSEQ MVP. Photo by Navneet Pall

 

The second place finish means Concordia gets home court for at least the first round of the playoffs, a huge advantage seeing as  the  Stingers have not won a game on the road since a Jan. 20 victory in Ste-Foy against Laval. Likewise, Concordia will be facing the Bishop’s Gaiters who are 1-7 on the road this season but a solid home record carried them to a 7-9 season. Bishop’s lost both games they played in Concordia’s gym this season.

Many of the Stingers’ struggles can be attributed to nothing more than bad luck. The team was bitten by the injury bug coming out of the Christmas break. Natasha Raposo, one of the team’s best outside shooters, missed a significant chunk of time. Kaylah Barrett, who was recently named RSEQ player of the year, saw her production drop dramatically later in the season as she was forced to play through hand and back injuries.

Barrett sat out for Concordia’s final  game of the season hoping to rest up for the playoffs.

Concordia dropped its final two games of the year, a 44-42 home loss to UQAM, and a 16-point blowout loss against Laval on the road.

While no team wants to back in to the playoffs, the final two games meant very little in the standings as the Stingers were virtually locked in to second place, and it was more important for the team to rest some players.

The team’s struggles down the stretch would soon be forgotten if Concordia was able to win the conference and advance to the national championships in Calgary. However, an early exit on home court would be a disappointing end to a season that had began so promisingly and with high expectations.

Bishop’s has been a middle of the pack team for most of the season, but games between the Gaiters and the Stingers have been very close.

Save for a 71-40 blowout Stingers victory that snapped Concordia out of a five-game losing streak on Feb. 10, all the games between the two teams have been decided by four points or fewer.

Concordia is the more talented team, but a lot will depend on just how healthy Barrett actually is. The Stingers are the best team in the conference defensively, but have had spurts where they’ve shot the ball horrendously. If the shots aren’t falling on Tuesday night against Bishop’s, it could spell trouble for the Stingers.

However, if the offensive is clicking, the Stingers should be able to advance into the next round, and likely face top-seeded McGill. Concordia and McGill split the season series this year.

It has been a Jekyll and Hyde season for Concordia. The playoffs will provide the opportunity to see the team’s true identity.

 

The game is Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at Loyola. 

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