SYDNEY — To defeat a team three times is generally a very difficult thing to do.
But that’s exactly what the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team must do to win the 2023 U Sports Final 8 Championship. They take on the Queen’s Gaels Sunday at 5 p.m. EST for the fourth time this season.
The teams split the regular season series one apiece. The Ravens defeated the Gaels for the second time in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) final to win the Critelli Cup. Tomorrow’s matchup creates an opportunity for a Queen’s revenge or a Ravens’ incursion of dominance.
The reunion comes after the Ravens defeated the Saint Mary’s University (SMU) Huskies 65-46 in Saturday’s semifinals. The 19-point win is the largest one of the tournament, but it didn’t seem like that would be the case at the end of the first quarter.
The score was tied at 13 heading into the second frame—that’s where it all went wrong for the Huskies.
Guard Clara Gascoigne went down injured a couple of minutes into the quarter. Gascoigne was battling for a rebound then all of a sudden she hit the floor grabbing her ankle. As she rolled around in pain and covered her face, the physio team rushed to treat the guard. It was apparent her night was over when she limped off the court.
“It got a lot tougher when one of our best players went down [injured],” Huskies assistant coach Kevin Churchill said. “It [becomes] ‘next person up’ … There’s always a secondary plan in place.”
From here on out, things only got worse for the Huskies. The Ravens shot an impressive 60 per cent from three-point range to close out the second. In the third quarter, Carleton held the Huskies to a low 6.7 per cent from field goal range, while Huskies guard Alaina McMillan went one for 17 from the same range.
But the rough shooting night wasn’t the biggest issue for the Huskies. Churchill said the team failed to rebound as planned. The game plan was to defend the ball, rebound the ball and hit on a fast break.
“We struggled with the rebounding part today, so we never got what we wanted in transition [offence],” Churchill said.
Ravens head coach Dani Sinclair credited forward Zerina Duvnjak for her performance. Duvnjak led the game with 11 rebounds, despite only playing 22 minutes off the bench.
“She’s been really impressive all year, but particularly in the second half of the season when she had to come in and play as an [undersized forward],” Sinclair said. “She’s so smart and focused and hard working that we trust her a lot. We know she’s capable of it, so [her performance] is not surprising to us.”
While the loss is big for SMU, they’ll be back in action tomorrow at 3 p.m. EST to compete for the bronze medal, right before Carleton prepares for its championship match.
Featured image by Jayden R. Dill.
