The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team returns home after a disappointing road trip with two losses to the Western University Mustangs and Windsor University Lancers, failing to turnaround a slump that continues to weigh down the team with only three games left in the regular season.
On the night of Jan. 31 at Western, the normally high-scoring Ravens struggled against a strong defense, losing 71-54.
The game fell apart in the few minutes before and after halftime. The Mustangs, who came into the game having lost only one of their last 15 games, outscored the Ravens 23 to 11 in the second quarter and 20 to 13 in the third. Carleton trailed by 11 or more points for the remaining 18 minutes of the game.
“They just imposed their skill and their rebounding on us,” said Brian Cheng, the Ravens’ head coach. “I don’t think we responded very well.”
The game marked Cheng’s first return to Western since leaving his job there, having been head coach of the women’s basketball team from 2011 to 2019.
“It’s sort of like your own home,” said Cheng. “You’ve got a lot of people there who care about you. At the end of the day, you’ve got to put that aside. You’ve got a job to do and you’ve got to win a game.”
The Ravens entered Friday night’s game with two losses in their last three games after just two in their first 15. By the end of the weekend, Carleton had just one win in their last five games.
On Feb. 1 the matchup was far closer, with a competitive third quarter ending 71-67 for the Lancers. In the fourth, the Ravens clawed to within two points despite being down by eight earlier in the quarter.
The last 40 seconds, with the teams going back and forth, were electric, but last-minute fouls snatched the win out of Carleton’s hands.
“We made progress in winning the hustle plays and boxing out,” said Cheng. “We improved, but unfortunately not enough to secure the victory.”
Starter Madison Reid, in 33 minutes, led the Ravens with 20 points scored, followed by Tatyanna Burke with 13 and Marlee Ball with 12. Cheng also applauded Alyssa Cerino and Dorcas Buisa for their contributions over the weekend.
“We got a core group of players that are starting to find themselves,” said Cheng. “We just gotta keep adding people into the mix and keep building our depth.”
Despite the losses, Carleton is still second in the Ontario University Athletics East division, but the Queen’s University Gaels are creeping up. They’ve won two in a row, and the Raven’s recent rough patch hasn’t helped.
“We’ve just gotta [stay] steadfast to who we are and the fundamental processes and principles of who we are,” said Cheng. “We’ve just gotta keep getting our stuff a little bit better.”
The Ravens will return to Ottawa for the Capital Hoops Classic at TD Place, starting at 6 p.m.
“We got two ranked teams coming in and clashing,” said Cheng on the rivalry matchup. “Let’s pack the gym.”
Feature image from file.
