MONTREAL -- Veteran Emma-Jane Scotten of Ottawa scored a season-high 20 points as the McGill women's basketball team defeated Concordia convincingly with a 68-50 decision at Love Competition Hall, Saturday.

It was the Martlets second victory over Concordia in three days and extended the team's win streak to four, including an exhibition victory over Manitoba, the team's longest such sequence since four consecutive conquests at the tail end of the 2017-18 season.

The Martlets improved their second-place record to 5-3 in the RSEQ conference. Perhaps more importantly, McGill currently holds the tie-breaker over the Stingers, having taken two of three meetings with a +12-point differential and one more head-to-head confrontation to go, on Feb.17 at home.

McGill led 17-15 after the opening quarter and held a robust 36-23 advantage by halftime. Concordia pushed back in the third and narrowed the gap to 44-36 but the Martlets tuned into a higher gear down the stretch, winning the fourth stanza 24-14.

"We played a lot more zone (defence) today... We moved the ball well and had different players scoring than we did in Thursday's game and that's the beauty of the way this team is working now," said McGill head coach Rikki Bowles. "On any given day, it could easily be someone new leading the way. On Thursday, it was Kristy (Awikeh) and Dani (Mbengo). Today it was EJ (Scotten) and Lily (Chatila). But we also had contributions from a variety of others, who scored between six and eight points."

Leading the way with three triples was Scotten, a 21-year-old Arts senior majoring in education in global contexts. The 5-foot-9 guard shot 7-for-15 from the field, including three of eight attempts from long distance. She also went 3-for-6 from the foul-line and pulled down three rebounds off the glass and contributed two assists with one steal.

"EJ was aggressive off the dribble," Bowles noted. "Concordia was really big on the inside and we were down to only two "bigs" with an injury. So as much as we have the mismatch guarding them down low in our end in the paint and it was a physical battle. We've had the physical advantage on the perimeter with their post players trying to guard EJ on the dribble. She looked aggressive, got some layups going to the basket and got to the free-throw line and a couple of threes went down for her. So it was just offensive overall game for her."

Despite fielding a smaller lineup without starter Seyna Diggs, a 6-foot-1 centre who was shaken up late in Thursday's win over the Stingers, McGill still managed to maintain a 46-39 edge in rebounding. The Martlets managed to match a season-best with nine treys, going 9-for-34 from the arc, compared to the visitors who shot 3-for-25.

Teammate Lily Rose Chatila, a freshman from Quebec City added 14 points and six boards, while junior Katie Rathwell of North Battleford, Sask., and Katerina Stoupas, a transfer from Bishop's,  played key roles off the bench. Rathwell tallied eight points while Stoupas had seven points with a team-high 13 rebounds, one assist and a steal.

"Everybody kind of stepped up today," added Bowles. "Syd (Foran) started after not playing much on Thursday and she battled really hard defensively, got her hands on a few balls for steals and was productive with her 23 minutes of court time."

For the Stingers, Dalyssa Fleurgin paced the team with 16 points off then bench, while Gretta-Olivia Ineza added 14 points and pulled down eight boards. Also, Serena Tchida had an eight-point, 17-rebound performance.

McGill shot only 37.3 per cent from the floor (25/67) and went 9-for-16 from the line. Concordia replied with a 33.3 success rate (21/63) and drained five of 14 freebies.

"Giving the players a little more freedom offensively has allowed them to get the ball in transition and just go and play," Bowles said. "They're talented, so they're able to find people and just read the defence that's coming to them, rather than having to stop and stall the ball and look for something specific. So I think they're a lot more confident and that makes a big difference."

McGill now turns its focus on preparation for next week's home-and-home series against fourth-place Bishop's (4-5). The Martlets took the first meeting between these clubs by a 57-53 margin at home. The point-spread against each team is important because it serves as the first tie-breaker in a head-to-head deadlock. The Gaiters will visit Love Competition Hall on Thursday (Jan. 18) at 6 p.m., before hosting the return match on Jan. 20 at 6 p.m.

Concordia, which has now lost two straight and three of its last four, dropped to 4-4. The Stingers will travel to division-leading Laval (7-0) on Jan.18, before hosting the Rouge et Or two days later.

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RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
McGill University Athletics & Recreation
514-983-7012 (cell)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca