Despite finishing in second place in the RSEQ women’s basketball conference and being No. 7 in the national rankings, the Concordia Stingers have a battle on their hands in semifinal action tonight.
Concordia (11-5) will face the third-place UQAM Citadins (10-6) in the opening round of the RSEQ Final 4 playoff tournament hosted by Université Laval.
The unranked Citadins have been problematic all season long for the Stingers. UQAM has won three of four regular season matchups between the teams and held the Stingers to an average of 51 points a game.
“They’ve played a really physical game against us all year,” said Concordia head coach Keith Pruden of his expectations going into tonight. “There’s no reason for them to change since they’ve been successful.”
To combat the physical Citadins, the Stingers will have to push back, shoot well and make good decisions with the ball.
Whoever comes out on top will face the winner of the other semifinal game between the first-place McGill Martlets and the fourth-place Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Final 4 champion will represent Quebec at the CIS national championship in Windsor, Ont. March 14-16.
