After two overtime periods and a slew of missed free throws, the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team won their fourth straight MBNA Capital Hoops Classic Jan. 26, holding off the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 71-63 at Scotiabank Place.

The victory marks the Ravens’ ninth straight win, and 13th of the season. They currently sit first in the Ontario University Athletics East conference.
Ravens head coach Taffe Charles attributed the two overtime quarters to his team’s lack of execution on the foul line.

“When you’re playing against good teams and it’s close, then you need to knock down some free throws and we didn’t do that,” he told reporters after the game.

“We definitely could have put that game away earlier,” echoed third-year guard Alyson Bush.

The Ravens grabbed the lead first, sinking two early three-pointers. The two teams traded points throughout the first quarter but the Ravens led the Gee-Gees 18-12 coming into the second.

The score remained tight in the second frame, with tough defence by the Gee-Gees holding the Ravens to just 10 points. Seven turnovers by the Ravens contributed to the Gee-Gees’ own 11-point quarter. The score was 28-23 in favour of the Ravens at the half.

A handful of three-pointers by the Gee-Gees brought the team within two points of the Ravens after the third, making the game 39-37 in favor of the Ravens. Veteran Gee-Gee Hannah Sunley-Paisley wasn’t making things easy for the Ravens under the net. At 6’1”, she dominated the backboard at both ends of the court.

“Coach [Charles] said to move our feet and get around her and that’s what we tried to do,” said first-year forward Darcy Hawkins. “We knew they’d be going inside.”

The Ravens clung to their lead for the majority of the fourth quarter, but a late three-pointer by the Gee-Gees put the team ahead 50-48 with less than two minutes left in the game.

Bush promptly responded by sinking two free throws to tie it up.

“I tried to remain calm and then take [the shot] as if it was just a practice,” Bush said.

Her execution granted the Ravens another five minutes to solve the Gee-Gees. In the final minute of play, the Ravens went 0-4 at the free throw line, which kept the score 50-50 at the buzzer.

Jessica Resch quickly put the Ravens ahead by two in OT, and less than two minutes later the Ravens built an eight-point lead.

The Gee-Gees soon responded, however, sinking three three-pointers of their own to tie the game at 59 at the end of the first overtime.

An early Ravens lead was nearly squandered again in the second overtime, but they finally managed to hold off the Gee-Gees 71-63.

“When the game got tough, we kept going,” said Bush, who, along with Kendall Macleod and Resch, led the Ravens with 13 points

“I think we showed a lot of resiliency . . . and determination,” Charles said. “There’s a couple times when we could have had a letdown but we just refocused and built the lead up again.”

“I’m proud of my team,” he added.

Related coverage:

Visit the CharlatanOnline YouTube channel for accompanying video stories with highlights of the fifth annual MBNA Capital Hoops Classic.

Erika Stark gets the Ravens' reaction after earning a fourth-place ranking in this week's CIS Top 10.

Gianluca Nesci recaps the Ravens men's 'Capital Comeback' Jan. 26 at Scotiabank Place.