MONTREAL – Four Martlets reached double digits, including a season-best 19-point performance from freshman Gladys Hakizimana as the No.2-ranked McGill Martlets defeated cross-town rival Concordia 77-64 in women's basketball at the Concordia Gym on Saturday.

It marked the McGill's seventh straight win over Concordia (5-9) as the Martlets improved to 12-1 atop the RSEQ conference. Only three regular season games remain until McGill hosts the RSEQ Final Four championship tournament, March 10-12

McGill practically dominated from start to finish. They led 22-14 after the opening frame, 36-25 at halftime and 56-42 going into the final stanza. The fourth was the only quarter that Concordia was able to outscore McGill (22-21) but it was too little, too late.

The Martlets were lights-out shooting with a 54.9 per cent success rate from the field (28/51), which included an impeccable 6-for-6 performance from three-point range. They were also a perfect 15-for-15 from the foul-line. Concordia meanwhile shot 27.4 (17/62) from the floor, 42.1 from three (8/19) and 88 per cent from the line (22/25).

Hakizimana, a first-year social work student from Montreal, was 5 of 7 from the field, which included a 2-for-2 performance from downtown. She also added five assists, a pair of steals, two rebounds and shot an impressive 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.

"Gladys is a beneficiary having a really good inside game," said McGill bench boss Ryan Thorne, who improved his lifetime record to 198-172 in 370 games overall behind the McGill bench since taking over 13 years ago. "Concordia had to double our post players so there were a lot of kick-outs and open shots early. Gladys was able to knock down those shots and that was huge for us."
 
Teammate Gabriela Hebert also had a hot hand, scoring 17 points off of a 7-for-9 shooting performance which included a perfect 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. The fifth-year senior from Chicoutimi, Que., pitched in five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 24 minutes of court time.
 
"From Gab's standpoint she just did a lot of grunt work," added Thorne. "She played defence and got some tips which lead to easy fast-break layups."
  
The two McGill bigs were the final players to reach double figures. Mariam Sylla, a 6-foot-1 forward from Guinea, scored 11 while Alex Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre from Beaconsfield, Que., put up 10. Kiss-Rusk also dominated in the paint, collecting six rebounds and four blocked shots.

Stingers forward Richelle Gregoire of Ste. Therese, Que., led all scorers with 25 points, along with five rebounds and three steals. Teammates Aurelie d'Anjou and Marie-Eve Martin, a former Martlet star, pitched in 15 and 13, respectively.

McGill held a 31-22 margin in rebounds and a 6-0 difference in block shots but lost the turnover battle 22-11.
 
The Martlets have a five-day break before travelling to Quebec City to take on second-place Laval (8-5) next Friday (Feb.19) at 6 p.m. Concordia will try to get back in the win column next Saturday (Feb.20) when they travel to Lennoxville to take on last-place Bishop's (0-13).

CIS BASKETBALL STANDINGS

CIS SCORING LEADERS

 

Pos	CLASSEMENT RSEQ STANDINGS	MJ/GP	V/W	D/L	PP/PF	PC/PA	MOY/WIN%	Diff./GBL	PTS
1	McGill	13	12	1	823	679	0.923	0.0	24
2	Laval	13	8	5	821	736	0.615	4.0	16
3	UQAM	13	8	5	799	705	0.615	4.0	16
4	Concordia	14	5	9	829	831	0.357	7.5	10
5	Bishop's	13	0	13	588	909	0.000	12.0	0

FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT:
Ryne Bondy or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012