The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team closed out the pre-season with a promising 8-1 record, after picking up two more wins Nov. 5-6.
The Ravens defeated the Laval Rouge et Or 66-43 Nov. 5 and the Bishop’s Gaiters 65-43 the following day in Sherbrooke, Que.
“When you have to play teams in their own gym, usually they have a little bit of an advantage,” said Ravens head coach Taffe Charles. “I think we handled the pressure well, though.”
The Ravens dominated on the boards against Laval, grabbing 47 rebounds. With fourth-year forward Kendall MacLeod leading the way, the Ravens built their lead by putting together multiple strings of unanswered points.
MacLeod scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while fourth-year guard Alyson Bush also contributed with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.
“We rebounded the ball very well,” Charles said. “We’re playing at a high intensity level right now and as long as we’re healthy, we’re ready to go.”
The Ravens continued their steady play the following afternoon at Bishop’s — again dominating on the boards with 49 rebounds. They scored 21 points off rebounds, compared to the four points the Gaiters picked up in the same category.
Second-year guard Krista Van Slingerland led the Ravens, scoring a game-high 16 points, while MacLeod recorded 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds for a double-double.
With the pre-season complete, Charles said he believes the Ravens are prepared for regular season play, but there’s still a lot of work to be done, he said.
“I’d like to see us finish with more consistency,” he said.
