The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team fell 73-59 to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in the quarter finals of the U Sports Final 8 Championships, on March 5 at TD Place.
The Ravens, who act as tournament hosts, came out with a lot of energy firing from all cylinders but were ineffective for the majority of the first game, shooting only 23/74, (31.1 per cent) from the field and 10/37 (27 per cent) from beyond the arc.
The Huskies in comparison got out to a quick lead by moving the ball well, finishing with 18 assists compared to Carleton’s 10 and by connecting on five of its first six three pointer attempts. Their strong shooting was the difference in the game.
After the first quarter the Ravens trailed 30-11.
However, they slowly began making a comeback, outscoring the Huskies 21-16 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14. By halftime, Saskatchewan lead 46-32.
“A tsunami hit us in the first quarter,” said Ravens head coach Brian Cheng.
“Once the wave was over, there was a mini-wave after that, like an aftershock … then another tsunami hit us.”
The third quarter was a low scoring affair from both sides. The Huskies outscored the Ravens 12-9. Both defences stepped up and made some critical stops and turnovers to start the second half.
Despite struggling offensively, Carleton made several key stops on defence. They were out rebounded 45-32 by the Huskies but forced more steals, turnovers, and were able to generate more offence in transition. A tight full-court press also helped slow down the game.
Despite outscoring the Huskies 18-15 in the fourth quarter the Ravens came short of a miraculous comeback, falling 73-59.
After the game, Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis said her team understood the challenge ahead for their first game of the tournament.
“We knew we were going to be in for a battle tonight, we respect Carleton, they played really hard,” she said.
The Huskies will now move on to the semi finals against Laval on March 7 at 3 p.m. at TD Place.
Carleton will play against University of Alberta on the consolation side of the bracket on March 6 at 3 p.m. at the Ravens Nest.
Feature image by Tim Austen.
