The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team’s season ended Wednesday after a tough 62-47 loss to the Ryerson Rams in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinals.
Fresh off a close win against the uOttawa Gee-Gees, the team was ready to fight to extend its season. The Rams went 14-0 in the regular season and defeated the Queen’s Gaels 67-58 in the OUA quarterfinals. By comparison, Carleton finished the season 10-4.
The Ravens kept close to the Rams throughout the first half, never getting ahead but never falling too far behind. This was the first time the teams faced off after COVID-19 restrictions cancelled their regular season games against each other.
Despite improvements to their sometimes shaky defence, the Ravens struggled to lock the Rams out.
At several points, it looked like the Ravens could pull ahead. With five minutes left in the second quarter, the score was tied, but the Rams quickly got back on top. At the half, the score was 28-25 Rams.
Guard Kali Pocrnic had 19 points and guard Tatyanna Burke scored 10 points to lead the Ravens.
Head coach Dani Sinclair said the team felt confident coming into the game and was disappointed with the loss.
The loss didn’t come down to strategy, according to Sinclair. Instead, the Rams were the tougher team and outplayed the Ravens on the court, she said.
“We’ve got to use this as motivation and learn from not only tonight but also how we prepare overall,” Sinclair said.
This was her first regular season with the team since joining the Ravens in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020-21 season.
Sinclair said there’s a lot to look forward to in future years.
“We have a good group coming in with a good recruiting class,” she said. “I think they’ll fit in nicely.”
Featured image provided by Matthew Lin/The Eyeopener.
