Carleton 55, Concordia 50: Stingers Give Up Late Lead

Concordia Women’s Basketball Team Lose Final Preseason Season Game

SportsWala Amara — Published October 30, 2017

Early in the game, the Stingers fed off the energy of the home crowd and looked better than their opponent, who happened to finish first in the Ontario University Athletics’ North Division a year ago.

“Overall I’m pleased with our effort,” said Concordia head coach Tenicha Gittens. “We came out there and we fought, we stayed true to what we wanted to do in terms of scouting and personnel.”

The Stingers closed out the first quarter up one point. Concordia’s roster was considerably smaller than Carleton’s, which could have been an issue considering the Ravens could keep their players much fresher throughout the game. Despite that, the home team managed to be very present defensively and offensively during the game.

Guard Jazlin Barker, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds, facilitated Concordia’s offence all game long. Of her 12 points, Barker flashed her touch from long-distance, putting in two of her five three-pointers in the game.

“Our coach always tells us to extend our range,” said Barker. “We’ve been practicing that during practice so it’s something that I want to do more of.”

Carleton showed why they’ll once again be national contenders. They shifted the momentum back to their side and closed out the half up two.

After halftime, Barker and forward Ashley Moss helped the team climb back into the game, scoring a combined 13 points in the third quarter. Their contributions helped the Stingers get back in front and they entered the final frame up 44-41.

“We just preach one stop, one possession on the other end,” said Gittens. “It’s a team effort, I don’t think anybody in particular stood out.”

In the fourth quarter, the Stingers went through stretches of sloppy play. Barker and Gittens both mentioned lapses in communication down the stretch leading to their problems late in the game.

“You can’t score six points in the fourth quarter and win any game,” said Gitten. “We didn’t execute down the stretch. We got to do a better job at finishing and closing games.”

The Ravens closed out the 55-50 win with consistent free throw shooting and a fourth quarter offensive explosion, led by guard Catherine Traer’s 17 points off the bench.

Despite that, Concordia’s lineup appears to be set with Barker and Moss being the two main scoring options for the team. Moss was the Stingers’ leading scorer in the game, finishing with 16 points, five rebounds, four blocks and four steals.

“I missed a couple layups but I did well,” said Moss. “We just got to execute better we made a few mistakes. But we need to do better moving forward.”

The Stingers will open their season at home against the Bishop’s Gaiters on Nov. 9.