VANCOUVER — In a rematch of the 2024 U Sports Final 8 championship game, the Saskatchewan Huskies spoiled the Carleton Ravens’ hopes of a national championship three-peat.
For a tight-knit Carleton team built on bonds of heart and sweat, stumbling this close to the finish line was devastating.
“There’s nothing you can say that’ll help right now,” Ravens head coach Dani Sinclair said. “They care a lot about each other as well and as a staff, we care a lot about them.”
Following the 85-66 loss on March 16 at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, the Ravens will return to Ottawa with a silver medal for their efforts in reaching a third-straight U Sports championship final appearance.
The Huskies were led by U Sports player of the year Gage Grassick, who scored a career-high 35 points, 21 of which came from three-pointers. She pieced together an all-around dominant performance deserving of a national title, which also included seven boards and seven assists.
In their bid for a third straight national title, the Ravens were led by sharp-shooting guard Teresa Donato’s 24 points on the night, nine of which came from beyond the arc.
Last year, the Ravens pulled off a nail-biting victory over Saskatchewan for their second-straight U Sports national championship, led by star Kali Pocrnic. This year, with Pocrnic playing professionally in Finland, Carleton relied on their depth and head coach Sinclair’s relentless game planning to reach the final for the third year in a row.
Carleton and Saskatchewan went blow-for-blow through the first few minutes, but the Huskies began to pull away through the end of the opening quarter.
“We needed to play with a lot of intensity and passion and we just didn’t do that,” Sinclair said. “I think that attributes to our start.”
Even though the Ravens held Grassick to only two points in the first quarter, they were just playing into her hand. Grassick’s playmaking guided her squad to a 24-16 lead as she connected four assists in the first 10 minutes.
The relentless Huskies’ defence took the wind from the Ravens’ wings in the second quarter. The exasperated Ravens missed tightly contested shots and took fouls against a Saskatchewan group that hit nine of 11 free throws in the first half.
Heading into the second half, Carleton was staring down the barrel of a 45-31 Huskies’ lead. If they wanted a third-straight national title, the Ravens needed nothing short of dominance over the next 20 minutes.
But the Huskies started the second half with the upper hand, as Grassick sank shot after shot from beyond the three-point line. Desperate for a response, the Ravens turned to Donato, whose efforts from the arc kept the Huskies from adding more than a point to their lead.
Down by 15 entering the fourth quarter, the Ravens needed to conjure some of the same magic that delivered an unlikely comeback in this year’s Capital Hoops Classic victory.
But if it wasn’t already clear, Grassick showed some magic of her own, scoring 18 points in the final quarter. Up against a smothering Huskies defence, the Ravens couldn’t gain any traction.
“I think we get to this point because we’re tough, because we defend, because we play together and we are skilled,” Sinclair said. “But the way they move, the way they pass, their ability to make shots, was better than us.”
Following a triumphant 85-63 victory over the host UBC Thunderbirds the night before on the way back to the national championship final, Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis said her team followed the game plan “flawlessly” when it meant the most.
“I thought yesterday was the best basketball we played all year and today it was probably a step up, playing against the best defensive team in the country,” Thomaidis said.
This was the Saskatchewan program’s first national title since 2020 and third all-time. Grassick said to finally do it with such a close group was “inspiring.”
“It gives me goosebumps to think that this team was part of something so special here,” Grassick said. “Even just holding a hat that says ‘national champions,’ a medal around my neck, a part of the net that we played on, it’s what every athlete works towards at the end of the year.”
For a Ravens team so dead-set on ultimate success, Sinclair said it’s easy to forget that a U Sports silver medal is a significant success for any Canadian University.
“We should be proud to be back in this spot,” Sinclair said. “But there’s a lot of things that we have to decide we’re gonna do better if we want to cross the finish line.”
On the other end of the court, a tearful Ravens group watched what could have been their much desired third-straight national title in the hands of a different team.
While nothing is certain for most players on the roster, the Ravens will lose reliable guard Dorcas Buisa, who has been a Swiss Army knife for Carleton through her five years of U Sports eligibility. This season, Buisa set a new single-game scoring record for the Ravens program, scoring 38 points against the Guelph Gryphons in November.
With plenty of returning players on the Ravens roster, Kali Pocrnic was watching her former teammates’ game in the early hours of the morning back in Finland. She said she knows the team will once again set their sights on a national title next season and further establish Carleton as a bonafide institution in Canadian women’s basketball.
“I wish it ended in a different way but I’m still so proud of this team for what they were able to accomplish this year,” Pocrnic wrote via text. “They put their all on the court this weekend and I know that next year they will come back with a chip on their shoulders.”
But for Sinclair, to look that far ahead would go against everything she stands for as both OUA and U Sports coach of the year.
“You kind of set yourself up for failure if you skip steps,” Sinclair said. “We have to become better basketball players.”
With a well-deserved break for a Ravens team, they can finally start turning to the future, even if it is just one step at a time.
“The goal for the next six months, after we take a bit of a break, is to get better and do the hard work,” Sinclair said. “There’s too many uncontrollables to predict that you’re gonna be right back in this spot again.”
With files from Janson Duench.
Featured photo by Janson Duench/The Charlatan.
