The Perfect Prey

Stingers Bounce Back from Season Opener Loss With Home Opener Win Against Bishop’s Gaiters

SportsJulian McKenzie — Published November 18, 2013

Last week saw the Stingers struggle to put the ball in the basket, scoring only five points in the fourth period of a 53-42 road loss to the Université du Québec à Montréal.

But playing at home on Saturday against a team they’d beat in their last four regular season pairings, Concordia’s offence had no problem earning their first win of the season, overwhelming the Gaiters 66-40.

“I’m much, much happier today with our effort than I was last week,” said Stingers head coach Keith Pruden after the game.

“We showed some energy, we played good defence throughout, and we did much better job executing offensively.”

The Stingers started the game on a near perfect note, outscoring Bishop’s 20-2 in the first period alone. The Gaiters narrowed the gap to 12 just before halftime, but that’s as close as they would get as Concordia would dominate the remaining two periods for the easy win.

Fifth-year point guard Ashley Clarke—who played a dreadful game in last week’s season opener, scoring just one basket in 33 minutes of play—returned to form as she led the way for the Stingers, scoring 16 points with four assists.

“We came out more aggressively, like 10 times more aggressive [than last week],” said Clarke, who was named the Stingers’ player of the game.

“It was good that we came out and showed that intensity for the whole four quarters of the game.”

Clarke wasn’t the only Stinger who had a good game, as sophomore forward Marilyse Roy-Viau chipped in with 13 points and recovered seven rebounds. Third-year centre Serginha Estime also performed well, notching seven points and 10 rebounds.

Overshadowing the dominant team effort was the less-than-stellar play of reigning provincial MVP Kaylah Barrett. After registering just two baskets last week, Barret managed just eight total points and was called for four personal fouls before being benched towards the end of the game.

Despite recovering from back and shoulder injuries, Barrett didn’t attribute her sluggish play to anything but a lack of adjustment on the court.

“I’m not new to the league anymore,” Barrett said. “I’m playing in my fourth year; everyone knows how I play and I have to adjust. I just have to find a way to adjust to the way that [other teams] are defending me.”

Pruden has similar sentiments.

“She’s just going through a slow stretch right now and other teams are focusing on her defensively,” Pruden said. “I’m not concerned about it, I know she’s not concerned about it.

“We demonstrated tonight that we don’t need her to drop in 20 every time,” he continued.

“We’re a better team if she doesn’t have to drop in 20 every night.”

Next week, the Stingers head down the street to face crosstown rivals the McGill Martlets on Thursday. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.