MONTREAL -- Alex Kiss-Rusk of Beaconsfield, Que., and Marie-Love Michel of Montreal each recorded "double-doubles" in a losing cause as McGill fell 58-53 to the fourth-place Stingers in RSEQ women's basketball at the Concordia Gym, Thursday.

Concordia (6-8) evened the season series between the archrivals to 2-2 but McGill (7-7) holds the tie-breaker, outscoring ConU 267-238 over the four games. However, with one week remaining before playoffs, the result narrowed McGill's lead to just two points in the conference standings as the Martlets, Concordia and UQAM are all battling for slots two through four.

The Stingers took a narrow 10-8 lead after the first quarter and increased it to 22-17 at the half, before carrying a massive 49-27 advantage into the final frame. Despite a spirited 26-9 comeback effort in the fourth quarter, the visitors were unable to overcome the deficit.

The Stingers were led by Marilyse Roy-Viau, who scored 14 points and collected five rebounds. Teammates Jaslin Barker and Aurelie d'Anjou Drouin followed with 12 points apiece.

Kiss-Rusk, a 6-foot-4 centre, tallied a game-high 16 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. She sank half of her 14 shots from the field, was perfect on her two free-throws, collected three blocked shots and had as many assists.

Michel, a 5-foot-9 winger, earned a dozen points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The physical education junior shot 6-for-10 and also had two steals in just 25 minutes of court-time.

Marika Guerin of Sorel, Que., rounded out the double-digit scorers from McGill with 10 points. She shot 2-for-6 from three-point range, went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, and also gathered in one rebound. Teammate Gladys Hakizimana of Montreal chipped in seven points, one rebound, five assists and two steals. Geraldine Cabillo-Abante of St. Laurent, Que., contributed five points and grabbed four rebounds.

The Martlets had a 32-28 rebounding advantage and a 3-0 margin in blocked shots. Concordia held an 11-6 difference in steals and allowed 16 turnovers compared to 25 by the visitors.

McGill shot 20-for-50 overall from the field, netted just 16.7 per cent of their three-point attempts (2/12), and was 11-for-14 on free-throws (78.6 per cent). The Stingers shot 20-for-60 from the field, including a 22.7 per cent success rate from beyond the arc (5/22) and were 13-for-16 from the stripe (81.3 per cent).

The Martlets (7-7) next host Bishop's (2-11) on Saturday (Feb. 18) at 1 p.m. at Love Competition Hall, before closing out the regular schedule in Quebec City on Feb. 23. Concordia (6-8) visits the Gaiters on Feb. 22 before hosting Laval on Feb. 25.
 

2016-17 RSEQ Women's Bsketball Standings (updated after game) • Classement de la saison régulière du RSEQ

Pos	Équipe	MJ	V	D	PP	PC	MOY	Diff.	PTS
1	Laval	13	12	1	922	727	0.923	0.0	24
2	UQAM	14	7	7	843	869	0.500	5.5	14
3	McGill	14	7	7	799	824	0.500	5.5	14
4	Concordia	14	6	8	889	947	0.429	6.5	12
5	Bishop's	13	2	11	738	824	0.154	10.0	4