EDMONTON — Nobody said it was going to be easy.
In the first quarterfinal matchup of the U Sports women’s basketball championship, the Carleton Ravens defeated the UFV Cascades by a 75-58 score that failed to convey the game’s competitive nature.
After a flying start led by guard Kali Pocrnic, the Ravens ran into trouble against a stingy Cascades defence.
“We shot the ball really well to start the game,” Ravens head coach Dani Sinclair said. “I knew they were going to make adjustments to take away some of those [shots].”
Those adjustments kept Carleton to just eight second-quarter points. However, team defence was the path to recovery, as the Ravens generated 25 points off of turnovers.
“Particularly in the third and fourth quarter, we had a few shot clock violations and just really good team defence, which I think helped us get some easy baskets because we didn’t have to deal with their half-court defence,” Sinclair said.
The Ravens entered the tournament on a 15-game undefeated streak dating back to their Dec. 6 loss to the uOttawa Gee-Gees.
Only the Laval Rouge et Or begin the tournament with a longer streak at 19 games, going back a whole calendar year to last season’s RSEQ playoffs.
Their most recent win crowned them OUA champions and awarded them the No. 2 seed in the national tournament, just behind the Canada West champion Saskatchewan Huskies.
Pocrnic picks apart UFV
If there was any doubt about who the favourite was in this matchup, Pocrnic and the Ravens quickly dispelled those thoughts with a dominant first quarter.
Pocrnic looked every bit of the part of a Critelli Cup MVP, as she threw down 10 points in the first quarter, including a pair of deep threes well behind the arc. One of those threes was followed up by a steal for a fast break layup.
Kali Pocrnic doing Kali Pocrnic things 🫡
Catch the game live here 👇
📺 https://t.co/7RuLZm7Lhl pic.twitter.com/1B66AcivzA— Carleton Ravens (@CURavens) March 7, 2024
“There’s no one else in the country I’d want to have leading our team,” Sinclair said. “I think she’s understated and I think sometimes underrated because she doesn’t demand a lot of attention — she doesn’t need to take shots, she doesn’t need anything — she just wants the team to win.”
“She’s our leader and the most selfless one you could ever imagine, so just a pleasure to coach.”
Forward Jacqueline Urban also tossed in a pair of threes as Carleton scored at will against the No. 7 seed Cascades. Carleton was running the table and it showed in the form of a 29-16 lead after one quarter.
But Carleton stumbled in the second quarter, running into a more formidable Cascades defence and enduring a cold shooting stretch.
Fraser Valley slowed down the game and took full advantage of the Ravens’ inability to finish baskets, which resulted in a seven-point run to open the second quarter that brought them within six points.
“They had a great game plan to take Kali away and they also did a really good job on the boards,” Sinclair said. “We had some trouble inside against them as we thought we would.”
Despite their offence stalling, Carleton managed to escape the first half leading 37-31.
They punched it up a notch to begin the third, making it 46-33 not even halfway thorough the third quarter.
Guard Kyana Jade-Poulin led on the defensive side as she hounded the ball all game. She posted a game-best six assists, 10 rebounds and 100 per cent free-throw shooting.
The quarter was also highlighted by increased physicality. Urban was knocked off her feet by Cascades forward Julia Tuchscherer, resulting in a bleeding elbow. Urban responded with body-to-body coverage on Tuchscherer for the rest of the game.
The final half of the game highlighted the disparity between the two teams. The Cascades struggled to create offensive opportunities and ran against the clock time after time.
Carleton capitalized on their opponent’s failure to produce, building their biggest lead of the game at 18 points.
Thoughtful ball movement led to baskets, and Carleton cruised through the quarter to victory.
A familiar foe
UFV proved that a strong defence can slow down the high-octane Ravens attack, but Pocrnic and the Ravens still prevailed, which might prove to be a tougher task against some of the higher-seeded teams in the tournament.
The Queen’s Gaels are one of those teams, and they’re sure to give Carleton a greater challenge as they seek revenge for their OUA finals loss. The Gaels defeated the St. Mary’s Huskies 69-54 in their quarterfinal matchup.
The semifinal between Carleton and Queen’s is set for March 9 at 8 p.m. EST.
Featured image by Owen Spillios-Hunter/The Charlatan.
