The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team prevailed in an 82-66 win over the Ryerson Rams to advance to the Critelli Cup semi-finals.
The Ravens were in a close contest in their first-ever playoff meeting with the Rams until they pulled away late in the fourth quarter.
Catherine Traer led the Ravens with 19 points while Bronwyn Williams paced Ryerson with 18. Cynthia Dupont also contributed another strong offensive game with 17 points off the bench.
The Ravens were without starting point guard Jenjen Abella, who has missed two games since the team faced the York Lions on Feb. 16.
The centre matchup between Heather Lindsay and Sofia Paska was also crucial as Paska, Ryerson’s leading scorer this season, missed Carleton’s 55-43 victory at Ryerson on Jan. 27.
Lindsay—Carleton’s leading scorer both this season and all-time—had only scored 14 points in her last three games. She finished with 12 points and nine rebounds against Ryerson.
The Rams, who led the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in field goal percentage, came in shooting hot as they raced out to a 12-5 lead, capped off by a Cara Tiemens layup and a Carleton timeout.
The Ravens would storm back to take a lead of their own on a 9-0 run, led by back-to-back buckets by Lindsay.
Carleton attacked the basket early and often as Lindsay, Traer and Elizabeth Leblanc all finished around the rim. The team only shot two-for-14 from the three-point range in the first half.
The home team extended the lead up to 33-24 in the second quarter before Ryerson made a comeback of their own. Almost every time the Ravens made a run to push ahead, the Rams would have a response.
The Rams were able to knock down jumpers and get to the foul line as Emma Fraser’s jump shot cut the lead down to 35-32 just before halftime.
Paska, who was held scoreless in the first half, broke out in the third quarter as Ryerson stayed neck-to-neck with Carleton. She hit two free throws to start before scoring two hook shots in the post as Ryerson held Carleton’s lead to 45-43.
“We’re kind of each others’ rivals in the league,” Lindsay said of Paska, who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “We play very similar so it’s always fun going up against her and I think we match up well against each other.”
As the second half continued, the Ravens found their three-point form as they started to pull away from the Rams.
Traer hit one just before the end of the third quarter while Stephanie Carr knocked down two in the fourth just in front of a Ravens bench that erupted in applause. Her second one put them ahead 65-56 two minutes into the quarter.
However, the Rams would have one more fight back as layups by Williams and Paska kept the score at 67-63. Once again, Carleton had an answer.
Traer knocked down a three-pointer and attacked the basket for a layup on the next possession, scoring seven straight points for Carleton to give them a 72-63 edge.
The game would be decided as the Ravens hit free throws to end Ryerson’s season.
“They’re a good team in the post too so I thought we matched up well with them but at the end we got after the loose balls and made the hustle plays and I think that made the difference,” Lindsay said.
The Ravens also full-court pressed Ryerson early and often throughout the game.
“We were just trying to be aggressive,” Lindsay explained about the strategy. “We wanted to get the first hit so we went out there and tried to rattle them. We didn’t want to play half-court against them, so by playing in the full court, it kind of sped them up. It took them out of what they wanted to do.”
The Ravens will face the Windsor Lancers in the semi-finals on Feb. 28.
