Stingers 96, Citadins 49: Balanced attack fuels Concordia blowout
A true team effort by the Concordia University women’s basketball team flattens overmatched UQAM squad
The Concordia University Stingers women’s basketball team won its third straight game on Thursday, Jan. 30 with a 96-49 win over the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins at John Dore Court. Concordia improved to 4-6 on the season, while UQAM’s nightmare season continued, drooping to 0-13.
Concordia head coach Tenicha Gittens celebrated the team’s opportunity to test their skills against a true opponent after 12 days of rest.
“We knew that we could be maybe a little antsy at the beginning because we're excited to be playing again,” Gittens said. “We've just been practicing against each other, so it's good to face an opponent.”
Stingers guard Victoria Lawrence scored 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting, while centre Serena Tchida added 17 points and forward Kayla Brutus put up 15 points for Concordia. Forward Fabiola Lamour and guard Nelly Owusu added 11 and 10 points respectively, rounding out a Stingers starting lineup in which every member cracked double-digit points.
A fast start for Concordia set the tone for the matchup, as the Stingers shot out to a 31-10 first-quarter lead on the back of a 9-0 run to close the frame. The second quarter displayed Concordia’s fearsome team defence, as the Stingers held UQAM to just four total shots and five points in the quarter to build a 53-15 lead at halftime.
UQAM showed signs of life in the second half, but the hole would prove too deep to climb out of. Citadins guard Marie Bethel scored nine of her team-high 14 points in the third quarter, but her performance was eclipsed by Lawrence, whose 12 points inflated a Stingers lead that climbed as high as 51 points. Concordia’s defence reasserted itself, as the Stingers’ 47-point victory is their largest margin of the season.
With an eye-popping nine steals to go along with her 18 points, Lawrence built on her team-best performance of 16 points and six steals against McGill University on Jan. 1. Her performance led the Stingers in scoring and takeaways for the second straight game. Gittens praised Lawrence’s development throughout the season as well as her energy as a competitor and team spark plug.
“[Lawrence is] competitive—what you see from her in the game is literally what you'll see if you come to practice,” Gittens said. “She's a transfer from the OUA (Ontario University Athletics), but also a transfer that hasn't played for the last two seasons, so it takes you a little bit of an adjustment. But anybody that competes at a high level that gives maximum effort and energy will be able to transition just fine.”
After a win like Thursday’s, one could excuse the Stingers for taking it easy in the leadup to their rematch with UQAM on Saturday, Feb. 1, but Gittens knows better than to take their opponents lightly.
“We got the win today, but it might be closer when we go out there,” Gittens said. “No game is perfect, but we want to draw from what we did well and continue that. So we'll point out what we did well and also the things that we need to clean up. On paper, it's a big win, but for a coach’s lens there are things that we're going to nitpick so we tighten up again.”
The Stingers picked up another win against UQAM on Feb. 1, by the score of 78-52. The Stingers’ record now stands at 5-6.