The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team capped off their impressive pre-season with victories over the Concordia Stingers and McGill Martlets last weekend in Montreal.
Before battling it out for a 56-44 win over the Martlets Oct. 30, the Ravens defeated the Stingers 71-63 the previous night.
“It was a tough game in their gym,” said Ravens head coach Taffe Charles.
Third-year guard Kendall MacLeod led the way for the Ravens with 18 points and seven rebounds and fifth-year forward Ashleigh Cleary put up 17. Point-guard Alyson Bush, meanwhile, also made a strong contribution with nine points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The following afternoon against McGill, the Ravens took the lead in the first quarter, but only scored eight in the second, as they trailed the Martlets 27-23 at the half.
With the help of a team-high 13 points by Cleary, the Ravens picked up their game in the second half and managed to secure the victory.
“Everyone played on Saturday,” Charles said. “Everyone stepped up under the circumstances.”
“The girls played spectacular [defence] in the third quarter,” he added. “[The Martlets] didn’t score for the first eight minutes of the third quarter.”
The Ravens held the Martlets to a mere 17 points in the second half, as they held on for a 56-44 win. As a team, Carleton had 31 rebounds to McGill’s 23.
“We’re feeling pretty good going into the regular season,” Cleary said.
Charles concurred.
“It felt like we got a lot out of the preseason,” Charles said. “The rookies improved from last week. You’re never quite ready for the regular season. We’re about as ready as anybody looking forward to moving forward is.”
“The upcoming weekend will be tough,” Charles added. “Brock plays with a style we don’t necessarily love, and Guelph is getting better every week.”
The Ravens open their regular season with games against the University of Guelph Gryphons and the Brock Badgers this weekend at the Ravens’ Nest.