The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team seemed scattered and rattled as they lost to the defending national champion Windsor Lancers 76-56 March 2 in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinal.
Unfortunately for the Ravens, the game was determined by what they were missing. Fourth-year forward Kendall MacLeod was out of the game with a second degree MCL tear and her presence on the court was sorely missed.
“We played 38 games and [MacLeod] started all 38,” said Ravens head coach Taffe Charles. “She’s the heart and soul of our team.”
Without MacLeod, the Ravens seemed lost on defence and couldn’t get any shots to drop.
“She was our toughest player so when you take our toughness level out it’s very difficult to replace it in a couple of days,” Charles said.
On the other side of the court, Jessica Clemencon led the Lancers to victory. With 32 points in the game she was the one-woman show on offence.
“She’s got good feet, good hands, and she’s very tall. Those three things are a great combination,” Charles said of last season’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) women’s basketball player of the year.
At 6’3″ Clemencon was literally shooting over top of the Ravens. She also racked up 10 defensive rebounds and not surprisingly, MVP honours after the game.
Despite the Lancers’ dominance on offence and eventual 20-point win, it took the team an full quarter to find their groove.
Ravens star point guard Alyson Bush was the first to draw blood in the game and it quickly became a shot-for-shot first quarter. With a couple minutes left, Ravens guard Krista Van Slingerland drained the three and then drew an illegal screen foul, getting the ball back for Carleton who took a 15-14 lead. They finished the first on top 17-14.
The second quarter saw the Ravens unravel. They went 5-16 from the field compared to the Lancers’ 8-9.
“We got into some foul trouble and we had to go to our bench and we just didn’t have the experience there,” Charles said.
The Lancers sunk 28 points in the second to the Ravens’ 13, and the teams entered the break with Windsor ahead 42-30.
Despite a tiny push mid-way through the third quarter, things didn’t get much better for the Ravens in the second half.
The Lancers came into the second half all smiles and giggles and were taken slightly off guard when Carleton brought the game within 10. But after a timeout call, Windsor quickly pulled away and the Ravens weren’t able to keep up.
The Lancers now go on to play the host University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the OUA final tonight. The Gee-Gees defeated the Brock Badgers 63-49 in the other semifinal March 2.
Carleton, meanwhile, will play the Badgers in the bronze medal match tonight.
This is the second straight year the Lancers got in the way of Carleton’s OUA championship efforts — last year, it happened in the OUA final.
However, although the Ravens won’t be bringing home the Ontario title, they’re still not out of contention just yet. With a win tonight in the OUA bronze medal game, they will move on to one of two regional tournaments, where they will have a chance to secure a berth in the CIS Final 8 tournament March 17-19 in Calgary.
