Raven guard Alyson Bush showed why she co-led the team in points on Oct. 24 against the University of Guelph. (Photo: Greg Mason)
The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team held off a late surge by the University of Alberta Pandas to win the Metro Glebe Tournament Oct. 25 in the Ravens’ Nest.
Carleton started off with a hefty lead after three quarters, only to allow the Pandas to recover in the fourth before shutting them down for good in a close but satisfying 69-68 victory.
This win marks the first time that the Raven women’s basketball team has won a tournament.
The three-day tournament started off with another close game Oct.23 against Concordia University.
Concordia kept the game tight throughout, but the Ravens escaped with a 68-64 win.
Ashleigh Cleary had a game-high 20 points and Ines Jelic had a double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“We played well considering we hadn’t played in two weeks,” head coach Taffe Charles said. “We didn’t play up to my standards but we played well enough to win.”
Carleton followed up their subpar performance with an impressive win over the University of Guelph 61-45 Oct 24.
Charles said he thought the team played much better defensively and were more consistent.
Alyson Bush and Jennifer Stoqua led the team with 14 points each.
The championship game Oct. 25 started off with both teams playing superb defence in the first quarter, however, it was Alberta who took the lead 19-17.
Carleton’s defence stepped up to take control of the second quarter, however, where the many forced turnovers allowed the Ravens to take a sizeable lead at half-time, 40-29.
Alberta recovered in the third, not allowing Carleton’s defence to set the tempo.
The Ravens kept pace with their cross-country opponent throughout the quarter, but didn’t allow them to take the momentum permanently.
After a series of back-and-forth plays, the Ravens still held onto a 10-point lead heading into the final quarter.
The Ravens were held to only nine points in the final quarter and Alberta managed to trim the lead to a single point with 30 seconds left thanks to a couple of three-pointers.
Yet, the Carleton women managed to hold onto their one-point lead for the championship victory.
Bush led the team with 15 points.
“Typically the western teams are pretty strong and we controlled the game after the first quarter and outscored them in the second. We held on in the end even when they hit two three-pointers to make it pretty close,” she said.
However, the celebration will be short-lived since the season opener against the University of Ottawa is right around the corner.
Charles said the team still has some work to do, but they probably have more talent this year than ever before.
“We have to try and be more consistent and on a shift-by-shift and minute-by-minute basis. . . . We can’t have too many patches where we’re really, really struggling. It’s basketball, you’ll have your downs but we can’t have our downs to be too severe.”
Charles said he believes that this team has a lot of potential despite half the team being rookies.
“This is the first time the women’s team has actually won a tournament. I’m really happy with the direction we’re going in. Ashleigh Cleary and Courtney Smith are leading the kids and it’s showing on the court,” Charles said.