For the second time under Taffe Charles’ tenure, the Carleton University Ravens women’s basketball team is heading to nationals.
Two years ago, they earned a wild card spot to head to Windsor, Ont. for nationals for the first time in their history.
Now, with that experience in mind, they’ll head to Regina, Sask. this weekend and look to make history.
Charles freely admits he thinks his team took their eye off the prize the last time they were on the national stage.
“I think the first time around we were just happy to be there,” he said. “I think this time around, we’re not going to be happy to just be there, we want to win and I think we’ve got a good chance.”
Charles never got the opportunity to compete at nationals as a player, having only tasted national success as an assistant coach under Dave Smart.
Coming off their second Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division title — claimed in a game against the University of Ottawa — and a silver medal at the OUA conference game against University of Windsor, Charles is keen to have his team in peak performance.
“We have to win those one-on-one battles, both individually and as a group,” he said.
Defence will be key heading into their first-round match up against the University of Calgary Dinos.
The Dinos finished with a 19-3 record and were ranked second in the country in points, and fourth in points per game.
But the Ravens have their own strengths to utilize. They finished with the second ranked defence in the country, giving up only an average of 52.4 points per game.
For the players, getting to nationals is about more than just showing up. This will be the last tournament for both Kendall MacLeod and Alyson Bush, who both graduate this year.
Bush was named to the first OUA all-star team for the fourth time in five years and has become integral to the Ravens’ success both defending and attacking.
For her, the ability of the team to stick together will prove to be the deciding factor of the Ravens’ time at nationals.
“To win it all is our end all goal,” she said.
At the start of the season, Charles spoke of his team’s need to work harder on their transition play.
The return of Darcy Hawkins from a concussion last year helped that, but Charles maintains that on the national stage, the Ravens need to keep their focus and have players make the step up off the bench.
For that, he will be looking to his bench to come into the game and make impact plays, as demonstrated in the OUA East final against the Gee-Gees, where the bench helped the Ravens to victory.
“Genavieve Melatti, with her experience coming off the bench and her experience nationals, [will be a key player],” Charles said. “She’s in a period right now where she knows the expectation and knows how to read situations.”
The Ravens were highly rated by their OUA opponents at the start of the season and now have it in their own hands to show what they can do against the rest of the country.
