Alice Fleming’s record-breaking night signals bright future for Concordia basketball

Stingers guard’s historic performance sparks optimism for Concordia’s next era of ballers

SportsFeatureConor Tomalty — Published March 18, 2025 5 minutes

The Stingers faced off against a Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins club who ended up losing all 16 games in the 2024-25 campaign. They figured that a solid showing against a Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) bottom feeder could instill confidence with playoffs just around the corner. 

What the team didn’t anticipate was a remarkable performance from the youngest player on the roster, a performance so impressive that it left an indelible mark on the future of the program. 

Nothing was out of the ordinary for Stingers guard Alice Fleming on the day of the UQAM game.

“I wish I had something interesting to say, like that I did something different that day,” Fleming said. “I ate breakfast, headed over to the gym, did my normal shooting before the game [...] it was a pretty normal game.”

The game plan was straightforward, according to Fleming. There was no emphasis on getting shooters involved pre-game.

“A lot of the time we look inside to our bigs (centre and forward players) because that’s where our advantage is on our team,” she said.

Fleming did not come out of the gate draining buckets. The second-year guard missed her first two shots and had registered zero points heading into the second quarter. Just over two minutes into the frame, however, she made her first three-pointer and knocked down a second just over a minute later. From there, something special was brewing for the Heritage College alumni. 

“[The Stingers] always have full confidence in me to shoot it,” she said. “So, especially on a day like that, they’re like, ‘Green light all the way. Every time you get the ball, shoot it.’”

Fleming finished the first half converting five of her 10 three-point attempts. By halftime, she and her teammates realized that her heat check wouldn't cool off, so the strategy for the remainder of the game changed. 

“She had 17 points [at the half],” Stingers veteran forward Nelly Owusu said. “So at halftime, that’s when we realized Alice was hot, so we’ll see if we can still feed her for the second half.”

The Stingers completely outplayed the Citadins through four quarters, finishing the game with a 106-54 triumph. Fleming’s hot hand scorched the opposition, and she ended the day with a career-high 36 points, making 10 of her 21 three-point attempts—a new RSEQ record for three-pointers made in a game. 

“[The team] wanted me to get to 40 or 41 [points] because that was the scoring record,” Fleming said. “But then coach said, ‘You broke the RSEQ record for threes,’ and then everyone freaked out.”

Fleming didn’t just break the record, she completely smashed it. The previous record of seven three pointers has an interesting tie to Concordia because it was held by former Stinger Caroline Task. Task, funnily enough, had no clue she was the prior record holder.

“I had a feeling that I could be up there,” Task said. “I didn’t realize that she actually, not only beat the record, but really blew that out of the water as well.”

When asked about her reaction to finding out about Fleming’s performance, Task was overjoyed for her fellow Stinger, but there was a mixed reaction.

“Obviously, not a sour taste,” Task said, chuckling. “But when somebody breaks your record you’re super happy for them, but I don’t get to go back out and re-break it. Definitely a feeling of ‘I wish I had a couple years of eligibility left.’”

The game had a strong significance for Fleming and for the numerous young players on the roster who will lead the Stingers in the coming years. The performance lent momentum to Concordia for the remainder of the season, despite losing in the semifinal against Laval. Fleming’s break-out game instilled confidence in the veteran players departing by season’s end. 

“It just shows that we have a great group of women,” Owusu said. “They’re still so young. So, for the youngest one on the team to break records like that, I feel like it speaks volumes.”

The Stingers will lose key seniors such as Owusu, Serena Tchida and Dalyssa Fleurgin next season. This means it is up to the remaining players to lead the charge for the incoming recruiting class. This is nothing new to the program, as a similar scenario had played out following the 2021-22 campaign.

The Stingers were rocking a 9-3 first-place record, and head coach Tenicha Gittens had merited the honour of RSEQ Coach of the Year. Yet, it was a shocking early exit for Concordia, as they fell to UQAM in the semifinal, 75-68. Five seniors had departed from the team, including Task, paving the way for a new leader to take the reins.

“When leaders leave, it opens the door for other leaders to grow and stand out,” Task said. “A great example is with Serena. When I was there, she was young, she didn’t necessarily have that leader mentality. [...] I would hope that Serena took someone under her wing to make them a leader. That’s what I tried to do with her.”

Apart from Fleming, another example could be Stingers forward and RSEQ Defensive Player of the Year Victoria Lawrence. She averaged 9.3 points per game in her fourth year of eligibility and ranked 11th in U Sports with 57 steals. Whether it’s her, Fleming or another player, Task is sure that the future is bright for the Stingers.

“When you have a coach like Tenicha Gittens who is driven to not only grow women on the court but off the court, when you have a leader like that at the forefront of the program, then Concordia is unstoppable,” Task said.

For the time being, Fleming will look back at the record-breaking feat with admiration, the same level of love that is put into the game of basketball.

“[Coach Gittens] was like, ‘I could tell you all love basketball today. You just looked so into it and that love translates into good play,’” Fleming said.

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 11, published March 18, 2025.