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Carleton’s basketball teams are riding into the MBNA Capital Hoops Classic matchup Jan. 26 against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on extended win streaks.
The division-leading Ravens’ women have won eight straight, 12-2 overall, and have won all three of their Capital Hoops matches, with a 53-40 victory last year.
The Gee-Gees are 9-5, third in the OUA East and coming off an overtime loss to Laurentian at home Jan. 22 which broke a six game winning streak.
In the first game, the Ravens are up against the third-best scorer in the province, forward Hannah Sunley-Paisley and her 16.4 points per game. That’s down from her 18.9 a game last year which was tops in Ontario.
This will be the first game between the two teams since the University of Ottawa upset Carleton to break their 11-game winning streak last year in the OUA East finals, and the first for the Ravens without graduated forward Ines Jelic to go for one of her legendary post battles with Sunley-Paisley.
It’ll probably be forwards Ashleigh Cleary or leading rebounder Darcy Hawkins who has to take that role this time, meaning it will be up to veterans Kendall McLeod, Aly Bush and potentially one of Courtney Smith or rookie Krista van Slingerland to carry the offensive load.
Ottawa plays off Sunley-Paisley’s post presence to launch the fourth most three-point attempts in the country (21.8 per game) so look for players like rookie point guard Sarah Nolette and second-year combo guard Alex Naylor to try and pour in some threes.
The Gee-Gees are pretty average in most other statistics except for free throws, where they’re third last in attempts (13.6 per game) and seventh last at percentage (64.2%).
The Ravens’ strengths are rebounding at 41.6 a game, with Cleary on the offensive side and Hawkins and Bush working the defensive boards. They also rank highly in the country in three-point attempts (21.2 per game) and keep their fouls and turnovers low.
Capital Hoops is unique in that it’s not really a home or an away game, but the Gee-Gees are 6-2 when they play in Ottawa this season and the Ravens are 8-0.
Last year Carleton beat them twice in the regular season, but lost as mentioned in the Eastern division finals 59-54. Led by Sunley-Paisley’s 26 points, the Gee-Gees won, despite Jelic’s 23 points in what was her final OUA game.
Men: Top-ranked Ravens return to Scotiabank Place for duel with Gee-Gees
The Ravens’ last meaningful loss came to Saskatchewan in the national semifinals last March, which was also their last meaningful game at Scotiabank Place. They’re 14-0 this year, with their closest game an 88-80 win over Laurier Nov. 12.
Carleton and the University of Ottawa have not met since a one-point Raven’s victory in the regular season finale last year.
Warren Ward scored 27 in that contest, and he’s back for the 6-8 Gee-Gees and averaging 14.5 points per game, fighting through a hamstring injury earlier this year.
Gee-Gees star Josh Gibson-Bascombe always got the Cole Hobin treatment when these two teams played, but he’s graduated and playing in the Czech Republic, leaving behind his brother Jacob who’s only averaging 8.4 points per game.
Look for Hobin and coach Dave Smart to now focus on Ward and rookie Johnny Berhanemeskel, leading the team with 15.7 points per game.
Carleton’s top point-getter Tyson Hinz (17.6 ppg) has a scoring equivalent in fifth year centre Louis Gauthier and his 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The 6’6 Hinz will have to rely on agility and deception to overcome the height difference between him and the 6’9 Gauthier, but Hinz has a versatile offensive skill set.
We’re missing out on an exciting rookie point guard battle between Phil Scrubb and Ottawa’s Luc Minani, who hasn’t played since experiencing chest pains in November.
The Gee-Gees are another team that relies on the three, shooting the sixth-best in the country (37.9%) with help from Berhanemeskel and Gibson-Bascombe. They also pull down the ninth most rebounds (40.6 per game) with Ward and Gauthier leading the way.
They don’t have a lot of turnovers but struggle at the free-throw line (only 66.1%) and are pretty low in the assists and steals category.
Carleton is averaging almost 14 more points per game (91.1% to 77.2%) and has a clear advantage on the free-throw line, as well as in minimizing turnovers.
Carleton has won all eight of its games in Ottawa, while the Gee-Gees are 4-4.
Ottawa beat Carleton by two in the first Capital Hoops matchup in 2007 but the Ravens have won three since.
Predictions
The women’s game should be a closer contest, with the Ravens’ rookies hitting the Scotiabank spotlight for the first time (last year’s game was a clunker offensively with each team shooting around 30 per cent from the field and the University of Ottawa going one for 12 from three-point range).
Forwards Jenna Gilbert and Sunley-Paisley should match up well with Carleton’s Cleary and McLeod, but Carleton’s Bush holds the edge at point guard on Ottawa rookies Nolette and Kimberly Cupid.
Add that to the better depth of the Ravens and they should be able to grind out a victory, but the three-point shooting ability of the Gee-Gees will keep them dangerous. The backcourts are the biggest variables in this one, with some real battles in the post.
On the men’s side, this may be the introduction of Hinz to thousands of casual OUA basketball fans. He’s led the Ravens in scoring six of their last seven games, and if he can work around that height advantage of Gauthier, it should fare well for Carleton’s post game.
Look for Kyle Smendziuk and Aaron Chapman to get heavily involved in the game on both sides of the ball, if they can overcome the 6’7 body of Nemanja Baletic.
New Gee-Gees coach James Derouin may have come from UBC but he can’t turn the younger Gibson-Bascombe into reigning MVP Josh Whyte. Carleton’s point-guard trio of Scrubb, Willy Manigat, and Mike Kenny can exploit a weak bench, while vets Hobin and Elliot Thompson do a bit of everything.
Carleton may well be the deepest team in the country. They come at you in waves with intense defence that’s designed to wear the other team down and create transition opportunities.
A lot of Ravens scorers are going to have to go cold, and a lot of things are going to have to go the Gee-Gees’ way for Carleton to lose this one.
Andrew Foote is a fourth-year journalism student from the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. He co-hosts the sports update on the Charlatan Radio Show, Tuesdays at 11 a.m. on CKCU.