Stingers Basketball Previews

Stingers Look To Make Hoop Dreams Come True in 2014-15

SportsJulian McKenzie — Published August 26, 2014

Men’s Basketball

The Stingers don’t hit the hard court for real until November, but the men’s squad is already hard at work preparing for a new season.

Last season, the Stingers won only three times in their first 16 games of play, regular season, exhibition or otherwise, including three straight losses to begin the season.

The Stingers soon rebounded to win their next six straight regular-season games, only to finish with an 8-8 record and lose their opening-round playoff game 74-59 to Bishop’s.

This year’s Stingers will look different as veterans Jean-Andre Moussignac, Taylor Garner, Zach Brisebois, and guard Adam Chmielewski are all moving forward from the team.

In addition, the Stingers will have four new recruits from Quebec on their squad: CEGEP all-star forward Ken Beaulieu, guards Ricardo Monge and Garry Mersier, and 6-foot-10 centre Jean-Louis Wanya.

The Stingers men’s basketball team will play a series of exhibition games and a pre-season tournament before hosting the Laval Rouge et Or in their season opener on Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

The Stingers women’s basketball team, led by head coach Keith Pruden, will look to elevate themselves after an early exit from the RSEQ playoffs last season.

Their RSEQ semi-final loss came out of a disastrous third quarter in which the Stingers were outscored 18-2, before going on to lose 59-48 at the hands of the UQAM Citadins.

The road back to the playoffs won’t be an easy one for Pruden’s squad, as the team will be without point guard Ashley Clarke as well as shooting guard Alex Boudreau, meaning the Stingers will lose some offensive punch and a chunk of their veteran presence.

However, leading the charge for a more successful 2014-2015 campaign will be three-time All-Canadian guard Kaylah Barrett and second-team all-star forward Marilyse Roy-Viau.

Barrett, a fourth-year guard from Brampton, Ontario, is the first Stinger in Concordia University basketball history to be a three-time All-Canadian. She led the entire Quebec conference in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game last season.

Roy-Viau averaged 11.5 points per game last season, along with 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 steals a game.

The Stingers’ season won’t get started until Nov. 6, when they’ll invite the Laval Rouge et Or to the Concordia Gym for a 6 p.m. showdown.

Correction: This article states that guard Adam Chmielewski will return to the Stingers this season. He, in fact, will not be returning to the team. The Link regrets the error.