The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team booked their ticket to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East final with a huge victory over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues Feb. 23.
Ending the regular season with two straight losses, the Ravens bounced back at home in their first playoff game to beat the Blues handily, 71-47.
Just two weeks earlier, the Ravens lost to the Blues at home and then followed that up with a heartbreaking loss against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
“Losing isn’t always a bad thing,” Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said. “We had to re-think and re-examine how we wanted to play. We lost our way and the losses let us re-examine how we play and make changes.”
With the two losses, the Ravens fell to second place in the OUA East, with the Gee-Gees finishing in first. Both the Ravens and the Gee-Gees won their OUA East semi-final matches, setting up a massive OUA East final.
“This game is very important and it would mean quite a lot to win as the winner automatically advances to nationals, which is our ultimate goal,” Ravens guard Kendall MacLeod said.
The two cross-town rivals will square off to determine not only who will compete in the OUA final, but the winner will be guaranteed a spot in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Final 8 in Regina, Sask., March 15-17.
“We need to work on sharing the basketball and make good decisions. Recently we have had people in the wrong places doing things they shouldn’t be doing, so we need to get everyone back to doing what they are supposed to,” Charles said.
In the game against the Blues, the Ravens started strong early to ensure that they would not be upset by the same team twice in a row. At the end of the first quarter, they led the Blues 24-10.
The Ravens dominated the boards with a total of 48 rebounds, 19 offensive rebounds, while the Blues had 31 total rebounds.
In the second half, the Ravens did not falter and continued to increase their lead, ultimately winning by 24 points.
Veteran guards Alyson Bush and Kendall MacLeod played their final game on home court as Ravens. Bush tallied 13 points and five rebounds and MacLeod had nine points with six rebounds.
“It was very overwhelming and exciting,” MacLeod said. “It was bittersweet at the same time, knowing five years went by so quickly, and that it was my final game at home.”
Even though the Ravens lost their last game of the regular season against the Gee-Gees, they are confident they can win when it counts the most.
“We need a strong work ethic and a high intensity level. We are a strong rebounding and defensive team, and that is how other teams see us. We have gotten away from that and we need to get back to it. We can play a game where every possession for the other team is a nightmare. If we do that, I like our chances,” Charles said.
