The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team faced off against the Ryerson Rams on Nov. 29 at the Ravens’ Nest.
The Ravens drew first blood, with forward Lindsay Shotbolt scoring the first basket of the night. The quarter went back and forth between the two teams, but ended with the Rams hitting a three-point buzzer-beater that left the Ravens trailing by 15-11.
“They had a good game against Ottawa U last night so we knew they were going to come out hard but, we just had to come out harder and we did that and came out on top,” Shotbolt said.
The Ravens stayed with the Rams, but still remained trailing by four throughout the second quarter.
Veterans Shotbolt and Lindsey Suprunchuk dominated on offense for the Ravens, and Heather Lindsay was solid on defense.
The Ravens managed to steal the lead back with three minutes left from an inside shot by Natasha Plaskacz. The half ended with the Ravens on top 29-26.
The Rams started off the third quarter by scoring a layup 45 seconds in, but Shotbolt responded with a big three-pointer, extending the Ravens lead to four. The Ravens started to pull ahead with three minutes left in the third quarter as Stephanie Carr hit a big three-pointer, leaving the score 39-33.
Ryerson stole back the lead in the final minute of the third quarter with a three-point play by Sofia Plasko, making the score 43-41 for Ryerson.
Carleton was having trouble finishing their drives to the basket with four missed layups in a row. Becky Leblanc ended the stretch by hitting a crucial shot keeping the game within two points.
“We turned the ball over too much we turned it over at least 20 times a game we got to get that down,” Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said.
Shotbolt agreed they needed to work on cutting down on turnovers.
“A lot of the times we are the ones turning the ball over, so it’s not making as many mistakes for us,” she said.
The Ravens went on a 10-0 run that included strong plays by Lindsay, Carr, and Suprunchuk. This extended the lead to five for the Ravens.
“I thought we were having bad stretches where we were turning over the ball, and finally we started taking care of the ball and making good decisions,” Charles said.
The Rams showed some fight, hitting a three to keep the game within two possessions. The Rams’ full-court press proved to be useful, as they trapped Abeer Farhat before scoring a layup to bring the game within four points.
The Ravens managed to hold off the Rams to seal a 63-58 victory.
“It was a great team effort in terms of putting together a game plan with actual discipline and toughness,” Charles said post-game.
“If we can take care of the basketball and make the key shots we will be very successful.”
