MONTREAL --
Jennifer Silver scored 15 points and
Alex Kiss-Rusk collected her sixth "double-double" of the season as No.2-ranked McGill defeated cross-town rival Concordia 64-49 in women's basketball at the Concordia Gym on Thursday.
It marked the Martlets' fifth-straight win over Concordia, which tumbled to 2-7. The victory ties McGill (6-1) with UQAM (6-2) for first place in the RSEQ conference, with McGill holding a game in hand. The Stingers and Martlets will tip-off again on Saturday, Jan. 23 at Love Competition Hall in the annual "Shoot for the Cure" breast cancer fundraiser. McGill will be playing in pink uniforms instead of their traditional red and white colours.
Silver, a third-year medical student from Montreal, Que., also added nine rebounds and shot an impressive 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.
Kiss-Rusk, a junior from Beaconsfield, Que., scored 14 points and nabbed 11 rebounds, all in the defensive zone. She also blocked four shots and sank both of her free-throw attempts.
"We've been talking about Alex needing to be a little more aggressive and a little less passive," said McGill head coach
Ryan Thorne of his 6-foot-4 centre. "She was in a challenging position today because she was matched against a smaller 'big' who attacks the basket well, so she had to move her feet and play defence. I thought she did a great job on both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively. She was able to box-out and go get (defensive) rebounds for us."
The game featured 13 lead changes through the first three quarters, with McGill holdoing on to a 15-14 edge after the first period, which expanded to a 35-26 halftime lead and a 52-42 advantage after three. Though Concordia mounted a challenge in the second half, narrowing the gap to 45-42 late in the third stanza, they were held to just seven points in the final frame.
Stingers forward
Richelle Gregoire of Ste. Therese, Que., led all scorers with 18 points, along with six rebounds. Teammate
Marilyse Roy-Viau followed with 17 points and seven rebounds. Both were impeccable from the free-throw line, shooting a combined 11-for-11, where Concordia shot an impressive a 94.1 per cent success rate.
Martlets co-captain and All-Canadian forward
Mariam Sylla -- who tweaked her knee last week -- was kept out of the lineup for the second straight contest, for precautionary reasons, according to Thorne. Also missing was point-guard and two-time team MVP
Dianna Ros, with an undisclosed injury.
In face of injuries, Thorne has taken advantage of the Martlets' depth to avoid over-burdening his star athletes.
"There are a lot of people out for us right now and some other girls are stepping up, so I'm very happy with the results," he noted. "It was great to see players come in off the bench and contribute right away."
McGill's bench outscored the Concordia subs 23-2. Among those who impressed were
Stephanie Blais, who tallied nine points in 11 minutes of court-time and rookie
Fredericke Laflamme, who nailed a pair of treys in her seven minutes of action.
McGill had a commanding 42-28 lead in rebounds and a 7-0 difference in block shots, as well as a 10-7 advantage in turnovers and a 3-2 edge in steals.
Neither team excelled in accuracy from the floor, with McGill shooting 35.5 per cent from the field (22/62) and burying just three of 12 attempts from beyond the arc. Concordia netted 16 of 59 attempts and shot a mere 11.1 per cent (1/9) from three-point range.
GAME NOTES:
Tenicha Gittens, the first-year Concordia head coach who made her coaching debut as an assistant with the Martlets, was assessed a technical foul in the fourth quarter... Also on the Stingers coaching staff is
Denburk Reid, a former all-conference point-guard at McGill and is the team's all-time leading scorer.
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT:
Kirsten Whelan or
Earl ZukermanMcGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012
