Stingers 61, Rouge et Or 45: Concordia women’s basketball finds its footing with second straight victory

The Stingers put a shaky first quarter behind them to pull away from Laval

SportsSamuel Kayll — Published November 25, 2024 0 minutes

Stingers forward Angela Batrla led all scorers with 21 points while shooting guard Victoria Lawrence chipped in with 17 points for the Stingers. Point guard Kayla Brutus rounded out the double-digit scorers for Concordia with 13 points, including 3-for-4 on three-pointers. 

Early on, the Stingers looked vulnerable. A relentless Laval defence held Concordia to two points for a long stretch of the first quarter, but Laval struggled to score as well. The Stingers ended the frame in just a 13-8 deficit. 

Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens highlighted the team’s mentality in practice as a catalyst for the game’s turnaround. 

“It's really important for us to practice at a high level every single day,” Gittens said postgame, “because that's absolutely what's going to give us the confidence to go out there and execute what we need to do on both ends of the floor.”

Sparked by their first-quarter performance, the Stingers erupted in the second. Lawrence led the charge with 10 of her 17 points, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 on threes. With a 22-12 edge in the frame, Concordia inverted its first-quarter deficit and headed into halftime ahead 30-25.

The suffocation continued in the second half, as Concordia slowly but surely pulled the game out of reach. Brutus scored all 11 of her points in the third quarter, augmenting a Stingers lead that reached as high as 18 points. Concordia’s defence took over in the fourth quarter, holding the Rouge et Or to 2-for-15 shooting on field goals to close out the victory.

Overall, Laval shot a ghastly 20.3 per cent from the field and 19.2 per cent from three-point range, displaying Concordia’s flexible defensive system. Gittens congratulated her team’s defensive mentality, emphasizing their belief in her system.

“Defence for us is what's going to fuel our offence. If we adopt that mentality going into the games, then offence will flow. It will come, but defence has to be our staple,” Gittens said.
“And we always want to hold teams to under 55 points. That was our goal, and I'm glad that we did that and we came up with the win, because they believe it even more now.”

While neither Batrla nor Lawrence started the game, their combined 38 points nearly tripled Laval’s 13 total bench points. Concordia recovered from a 2-for-12 shooting performance in the first quarter to shoot a combined 41.3 per cent the rest of the match, demonstrating the team’s versatility and depth.

“It's huge to have that type of offensive output off your bench,” Gittens said. “And it can come from anybody—the ball doesn't just go through one person for us. Everybody can touch it, everybody can get it, everybody can eat, everybody can score.”

Concordia takes on the rival McGill University Martlets in their next game on Thursday, Nov. 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at John Dore Court.