Barrett leads Stingers to cage final

Kaylah Barrett scored 17 points and hauled in 14 rebounds to lead the Concordia Stingers to a 65-62 victory over the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Citadins in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) semi-final action at Concordia gym on Wednesday evening.

The third-year guard earned high praise from Concordia assistant coach Rastko Popovic. “Kaylah had a monster game,” he said. “Seventeen points, 14 rebounds, five steals and four assists. That’s an impressive performance.”

Barrett was named the outstanding player in the conference earlier in the week and received her plaque in a pre-game ceremony.

Coming off the bench, rookie forward Richelle Gregoire also played a good game. She chipped in with 15 points and four rebounds.

The Stingers played strongly for the first three quarters and enjoyed a 41-25 lead at halftime and a 54-38 advantage after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was challenging as UQAM outscored Concordia 24-11 in the final frame.

“We had a very good start,” Popovic said. “We hit a few shots early and it gave us a lot of confidence. We played really well in the first three quarters. We rebounded well in both ends of the floor and had 21 offensive rebounds which was huge for us.”

The victory earns the Stingers a berth in the conference championship this Saturday, March 2 at 2 p.m. to play the first-place McGill Martlets, who defeated the Laval Rouge et Or 54-47 in the other RSEQ semi-final.

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