Women’s Basketball: Sweet Second

Stingers Get Second Win of the Season After Beating Citadins

SportsJulian McKenzie — Published January 17, 2016 | Updated January 17, 2016 at 9:51pm

This high scoring third quarter allowed the Stingers to pull away and defeat the UQAM Citadins 71-61 on Saturday afternoon at the Concordia Gymnasium. The Stingers scored 33 points in the third, eight more than their total from the first half. Marilyse Roy-Viau led the way for Concordia with 26 points.

“I’m very proud of these ladies because they put four quarters together,” said Stingers head coach Tenicha Gittens. “We’re always neck and neck with teams [for the first] three quarters, then the fourth quarter we just succumb to being tired.”

A team meeting was held a day before their game against UQAM. According to Roy-Viau, the team used the gathering as an opportunity to figure out why they weren’t winning games.

Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Stingers had a 1-6 record and hadn’t won since Nov. 28 over the Bishop’s Gaiters.

“In that meeting that’s when all our ideas came in and all our questions were answered,” Roy-Viau said. “I feel like we came together and there was a lot of positivity and that showed on the court.”

Concordia was down 27-25 at halftime before their third quarter, where Roy-Viau scored 14 of her 26 points, including a three-point shot to end the quarter. With every shot completed, whether it came from Roy-Viau, Marie-Eve Martin or Richelle Gregoire, coach Gittens and her bench exploded with joyous emotion.

“When your team is hitting shots and they’re doing good things, I don’t know how you can be a coach and just sit on the sidelines and not cheer for them,” said Gittens.

“We knew in our head that we had them,” added Roy-Viau. “I’m so happy we got that win.”

Concordia’s next challenge will be against the McGill Martlets as they will face their crosstown rivals at home on Thursday evening at 6 p.m. and on the road next Saturday at 1 p.m.