Bittersweet Basketball

Stingers Take On UQAM, With a Win and a Loss

SportsClement Tagney — Published January 11, 2011

Men’s Basketball: Tight Court, Tight Win

Concordia – 69
UQAM – 66

Concordia’s men’s basketball team pulled victory from the jaws of defeat last Saturday night, as the Stingers came together to narrowly beat the Université du Québec à Montréal Citadins 69-66.
The fast-paced first quarter of the match—which saw both teams tied at 14-14—set the precedent for the rest of the game, as both teams moved constantly back and forth from each end of the court, coming back into each quarter tighter and harder.

Notably, UQAM’s point guard Arthaud Plesius and forward Gregory St-Amand put the Stingers’ defense to the test in the second quarter, but Concordia guard Kyle Desmarias handled the pressure with help of forwards James Clark and Evens Laroche.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we turned up the defense intensely in the second half as a team and it paid off,” said Desmarais, who finished the game with 18 points and 4 assists.

“In the end, we did what we had to do to win,” said Stingers head coach John Dore.

“It was a very physical game. UQAM competed very well and played well defensively—we were fortunate to hang on.” Desmarais’ play also made an impression on Citadins head coach Olga Hrycak.

Women’s Basketball: Slow Start

Concordia – 67
UQAM – 75

“It’s always a tough game against Concordia,” said UQAM Citadins women’s basketball head coach Jacques Verschuere after Saturday’s match. “They just never give up […] there’s always action. At the end of the match I said to myself, ‘We can’t lead the whole game and lose it in the last minute!’”

A rough start to the game, which enabled the Citadins to take a 27-17 lead in the first quarter, was what ultimately kept the Stingers from catching up for the win—but not for lack of trying.

Coming back hungry in the second period, the Stingers found the net. Point guard Yasmin Jean-Phillipe played 30 minutes, scoring 16 points, with teammates Kaylah Barrett and Andreanne Gregoire-Boudreau adding another 19 for the home team.

But all their heart wasn’t enough to out-play the Citadins. Jessica Bibeau-Côté, managed to keep up with 15 points, and Marjolaine Gauthier-Théorêt added 14. The Citadins were just too aggressive, dictating the match with a great passing game.

“We came at them pretty hard in the second [period], but we made a lot of pretty poor decisions offensively […] We gave them too many second chances and they’re too good to do that,” expressed Stingers head coach Keith Prudent. “Until we learn to play consistently, we’ll keep having days that we win and days that we lose.”

Stingers guard Magalie Beaulieu agreed with the sentiment.

“[We need] better passes with control [and] more emotional control. We played with too much with fire. If we would take our time, we would control the court better. The game showed us that it takes hard work and you have to fight to win.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 18, published January 11, 2011.