Kaylah Barrett and the Concordia Stingers stormed back from a 17-point deficit to beat the Bishop’s Gaiters 65-53 in the RSEQ women’s university basketball semifinal at Concordia gym on Tuesday night.
The Stingers were dismal early on, especially on defence, and found themselves down 24-7 after the first quarter of play.
By halftime, a scrappy Concordia team was clawing its way back into the game. The score was 31-27 for the Gaiters who were losing momentum with every minute that ticked off the clock.
Less than two minutes into the third frame, Concordia took over the lead.
“We started to play defensively,” explained head coach Keith Pruden. “The players started to play aggressive defence and that turned into easy offensive points. I’m really proud of how tough we played.”
The Stingers had a 48-40 lead after three quarters and were in control the rest of the game.
RSEQ MVP Kaylah Barrett was exceptional, prompting the pro-Concordia crowd to break into chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP” on several occasions. With 21 points, she was the leading scorer in the game. She also had 11 rebounds, five assists and a block.
Stinger second-year centre Tina Mpondani had a breakout game. She had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“Tina was crucial to our success tonight,” Pruden said. “She had the best game of her university career. She was outstanding.”
Concordia will meet the Martlets at McGill in the Quebec championship game on Friday at 7 p.m. The Martlets defeated the UQAM Citadins 63-56 in the other Quebec semifinal game.
