The Carleton Ravens’ women’s basketball team’s time at the 2022 Metro McKeen Glebe Invitational has come to a close after winning two of three games in the multi-day pre-season tournament at the Raven’s Nest Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
After battling Concordia, the University of British Columbia Okanagan and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), the Ravens will use the tournament experience toward their regular season, which tips off Nov. 4 at Raven’s Nest against the York University Lions.
Ravens vs UBC Okanagan
Carleton began its weekend Friday, Sept. 30 versus the UBC Okanagan Heat. The Ravens emerged victorious in a 94-70 win.
The first half was close but still leaned in favour of Carleton, as they held a 45-36 lead going into the latter half of the game. The Ravens began to peel away in a dominant third quarter, outscoring the Heat 36-20.
The Ravens’ offence was productive on the night, shooting 66.7 per cent from the field, including four of five from beyond the arc. A much closer fourth and final quarter put a cap on the game, giving Carleton its first win of the tournament.
Ravens vs Concordia
The Ravens took on Concordia University in what was the team’s most impressive win of the invitational. However, the victory came through a different method than the previous game.
As opposed to prolific offence winning them the game, it was the Ravens’ stifling defence that threw a wrench into the Stingers’ offensive plans.
Carleton held Concordia to a 35.6 shooting percentage for the game and limited their scoring chances, keeping the Stingers under 17 points in each quarter.
Concordia guard Rowena Blais was a beacon of hope for the Stingers’ success, accounting for 30 of the team’s 59 points during the game. Carleton guard Dorcas Buica, who played a team-leading 30 minutes for the Ravens on Saturday night, was a key piece in the team’s 77-59 shutdown against Concordia.
She’ll be one to watch this season, as her drive and defensive capabilities will be important to the Ravens’ success
Ravens vs UQAM
Sunday saw Carleton suffer a defeat for the first time this year, as the team fell to UQAM in a hard-fought overtime duel.
It was a continued theme of positive first and second quarters as the Ravens led 35-30 at the break. 10 of those points came from guard Kali Pocrnic, who helped the Ravens sustain leads throughout the entire tournament.
Both teams’ aggressiveness and physicality stood out in the second half, with both teams accumulating a whopping 26 combined personal fouls. Eventually, the deadlocked teams met in overtime, in which the UQAM Citadins pulled away with a 70-66 victory.
Despite the tournament’s conclusion, the action is only getting started for the Carleton Ravens.
With less than a month until their regular season debut, the Ravens will look to learn from their successes as well as their mistakes from this past weekend to improve.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
