Stingers 99, Ridgebacks 46: Stingers dominate to win Concordia Classic
Concordia ease past Ontario Tech to make it three wins in three games
The Stingers women’s basketball team held their ground on Oct. 7 to win the Concordia Classic Tournament. They cemented a three-game winning streak, as they overcame the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks 99-46 on the John Dore Court.
“Game to game we got better defensively. This weekend was about discipline,” head coach Tenicha Gittens said. “When we’re disciplined on the defensive end of the floor, it opens things for us offensively. We’ve still got a ton of things to work on. It’s early in the season and we’re trying to be intentional about building good habits.”
The Stingers charged early on, taking the lead 33-6 in the first quarter. Forward Angela Batrla’s drives to the basket, along with the efforts of point guard Areej Burgonio and shooting guard Florence Poirier tore apart the Ridgebacks’ defence.
Ontario Tech fought back by scoring 16 points in the second quarter, with Ridgebacks guard Adra Barnet proving troublesome for Concordia’s defence. However, the Stingers responded with 18 points in the same quarter.
The crowd went wild as Stingers shooting guard Alice Fleming sank a big three-pointer to make it 49-22 just before halftime. “I missed a bunch before that, so I was happy that [this] one finally fell,” Fleming said, reflecting on the play.
The Stingers continued to dominate the third quarter with 23 points compared to the Ridgebacks’ 14. Concordia also showed they had a strong bench as guard Ashley-Marie Torres came on to score a deep three-pointer. The Ridgebacks struggled to keep the ball away from the Stingers—something Batrla took advantage of—stealing possessions at every opportunity.
The final quarter started with the Stingers up 74-36. Scoring 25 points in the final quarter, Concordia showed no signs of slowing down and cruised to a 99-46 win.
Batrla—who last year was named Stingers female rookie of the year—was awarded MVP of the tournament. She finished their Oct. 7 matchup with 27 points and 12 rebounds. “I’m really happy with my performance, especially [considering] yesterday was a rough game for me,” Batrla said. “But I think we all played well together, we all passed the ball around really well,” she said, referring to their win against the University of North British Columbia Timberwolves.
“You can definitely see the togetherness in the team because there’s great chemistry this year,” Burgonio said. “I’m really excited to start the RSEQ [season] because we all get along on and off the court really well.”
The Stingers will hope to keep up their excellent form as they host the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday, Oct.13 at 6 p.m.
