Stingers lower boom on Martlets as playoffs loom

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL – Krystle Douglas, a 5-foot-5 guard from Chateauguay, Que., scored a game-high 15 points as Concordia overwhelmed McGill 70-43 in a key women’s basketball game with playoff implications at Love Competition Hall, Friday.

Both teams now face a must-win affair, in the season finale at Concordia on Saturday at 6 p.m. The fourth-place Martlets precariously hold the last playoff berth with a 5-8 record, while Concordia is fifth at 4-9. Whoever wins Saturday’s contest will clinch the final playoff berth in the Quebec league and advance to take on first-place Laval in a sudden-death semifinal at Quebec City on Feb. 25.

The only bright light for the Martlets was rookie Elise Lépine, a 5-foot-11 freshman forward from Mission, B.C., who had nine points, a game-high 12 rebounds, one steal and a single-game McGill record six blocked shots.

Montrealer Stephanie Bergeron, a first-year transfer from Franklin Pierce University, scored 13 for the Martlets, who are in the throes of a three-game losing streak since the loss of star freshman Anneth Him-Lazarenko, who suffered a torn ACL in her right knee on Jan. 31.

Concordia jumped into a 22-12 lead after the opening stanza and outscored the Martlets 14-4 in the second quarter to take a commanding 36-16 lead at the half. They increased that lead to 54-29 after three quarters. McGill committed a costly 24 turnovers that directly resulted in 24 points by Concordia.

The Martlets also shot a paltry 22.4 per cent from the field (13/58), 15.8 from the arc (3/19) and a respectable 73.7 from the free-throw line (14/19), compared to Concordia, which shot 34.4, 42.1 and 69.2, respectively.


Newspaper Box Score

(20/02/09 18h00 at Love Competition Hall)


CONCORDIA STINGERS 70, MCGILL MARTLETS 43

CONCORDIA STINGERS
Krystle Douglas 6-14 0-0 15; Melissa-A. Campbell 4-12 2-4 11; Kristin
Portwine 3-8 5-8 11; Nekeita Lee 2-7 3-4 7; Anne-Marie Prophete 3-6 0-0 6; Felon Harris 2-3 0-0 6; Kendra Carrie 2-7 0-0 6; A. Gregoire-Boudreau 0-0 4-4 4; Magalie Beaulieu 0-1 3-4 3; Yasmin Jean-Philippe 0-6 1-2 1; Jamie Hynes 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 22-64 18-26 70.

MCGILL MARTLETS (W)
Stephanie Bergeron 3-12 6-6 13; Elise Lepine 3-7 3-4 9; Marie-Pier Brabant 2-9 0-0 6; Caroline Hebert 2-13 1-3 5; Nathifa Weekes 1-7 2-4 4; Shavern Weekes 0-5 2-2 2; Jennifer OBrien 1-2 0-0 2; Aurelie Lauzier 1-3 0-0 2.
Totals 13-58 14-19 43.

Concordia Stingers............ 22 14 18 16 - 70
McGill Martlets (W)........... 12 4 13 14 - 43

3-point goals—
Concordia Stingers 8-19 (Krystle Douglas 3-6; Kendra Carrie
2-4; Felon Harris 2-2; Melissa-A. Campbell 1-4; Magalie Beaulieu 0-1; Yasmin Jean-Philippe 0-2) ;

McGill Martlets 3-19 (Marie-Pier Brabant 2-9; Stephanie Bergeron 1-6; Nathifa Weekes 0-2; Elise Lepine 0-2).

Fouled out—
Concordia Stingers-None,
McGill Martlets -None.

Rebounds—
Concordia Stingers 36 (Kendra Carrie 7),
McGill Martlets 35 (Elise Lepine 12).

Assists—
Concordia Stingers 11 (Krystle Douglas 3),
McGill Martlets 5(Shavern Weekes 2).

Total fouls—
Concordia Stingers 20,
McGill Martlets 18.

Technical fouls—
Concordia Stingers-None,
McGill Martlets -None.