The Carleton Ravens found their focus with wins over the Ryerson University Rams and University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues.
The Ravens beat the Varsity Blues 67-48 on Jan. 25 before defeating the Rams 71-62 the following night.
“It’s like Jekyll and Hyde [with] these guys,” Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said on the Ryerson game. “I think it probably goes down to the veterans. I think they know a big game . . . they’re ready for a big game and then the games that aren’t as big, they don’t play as well.”
Charles said the team’s ball movement hadn’t been as good as he would have liked against the Varsity Blues. Carleton had 18 assists to U of T’s 10 as they pulled away from the visitors with a second-quarter run.
The following night, fifth-year guard Nicole Gilmore led the way with 29 points and 12 rebounds as she won Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Female Athlete of the Week Honours.
“She’s just being aggressive and focused,” Charles said. “I think the biggest thing is focus. Focused and not wanting to lose. We got some of those championship people and she’s one of them . . . she’s wanted this moment, so again, I’m proud for her.”
She scored on a variety of drives to the baskets as well as three-pointers. However, Gilmore’s personal responsibility goes beyond scoring.
“Getting stops on defence, being a good leader and bringing the energy, so not necessarily like [just] scoring,” she said of her role.
Ravens forward Alyssa Cerino praised the team for holding the Rams to only four offensive rebounds–Carleton had eight–and all-star centre Sofia Paska to only 10 points and five rebounds.
“We knew they are definitely bigger than us so I think just being physical and communicating was the biggest part and we knew once the shot goes up, we have to have team defence and team rebounding,” Cerino said.
Cerino herself chipped in 15 points against Ryerson and 16 against U of T, relying on a variety of post-up moves. She said she’s been developing her post-up game since meeting with Charles last November to talk about her role.
“He said how he wanted me to work on post moves more because that’s where he thinks I should be and I was perfectly fine with that,” she said. “I’ll do anything for the team.”
The team now focuses on being more consistent in games against lesser opponents, according to Charles. The Ravens have beaten Ryerson twice as well as the University of Ottawa but have lost to the Laurentian University Voyageurs and almost lost to the University of Guelph Gryphons this season.
“Well, it’s tough but we’re running out of time and I think the biggest thing I told them is that we can’t take any more steps back,” Charles said. “If we’re going to beat Ryerson, we can’t take steps back, so beat the teams that we’re supposed to beat.”
Gilmore said the focus is on respecting each team. Cerino said it comes down to the team’s mentality.
“I guess when we don’t play as good of teams as Ryerson and Ottawa U—I guess we kind of get a little more relaxed and we know what happened against Laurentian,” she said. “We know that we can’t fool around—we can’t be relaxed at all, no matter who we’re playing.”
The Ravens take on the Gee-Gees at the Capital Hoops Classic on Feb. 1 with top spot in the OUA East on the line.
“We haven’t played them since the first game of the season, so that’s going to be interesting,” Cerino said. “It’s definitely going to be a really good game, tough matchups inside for sure, but I think the first game, we can’t really look at that because both teams have come a long way.” θ
– With files by Tim Austen
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Photo by Jeff Pelletier
