The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team won their two games against the Windsor Lancers and the Western Mustangs over the weekend. Their first game against Windsor on Nov. 17 was a dominating win, beating the undefeated Lancers 70-46.
The Ravens would host the Western Mustangs the following night, completing another weekend series sweep at home after a 71-48 win.
As a result of their win over Windsor, along with Queen’s losing to Wilfrid Laurier on Nov. 18, Carleton now remains the only undefeated team in Ontario University Athletics. The game also marked the fourth game played within seven days for the Ravens basketball squad, a factor that Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said he believes had a crucial impact on his team’s overall performance.
“[I] didn’t think we played particularly well,” Charles said, “but we played a lot of serious basketball over the last nine days so that probably [had] a factor on us.”
The first quarter started with both the Ravens and Lancers trying to find their offensive rhythms, as missed opportunities and defensive fouls plagued Carleton.
The Ravens were able to get their offence moving after a trio of three-pointers were converted by guards Jenjen Abella, Alexandra Trivieri, and Nicole Gilmore to give Carleton an 18-14 lead going into the second quarter.
Carleton’s long-range shooters gave the Ravens a much-needed advantage on offence, outscoring the Lancers 17-7 in the second after posting a strong 45.5 percent from the three-point field goal range. Windsor finished the first half going an abysmal 0-9 from beyond the arc.
Ravens guard Madison Reid was able to hit an exciting buzzer beater from the three-point line giving Carleton a 35-21 lead going into halftime.
“We were fortunate to get in the half with a lead,” Charles said. “I think [Reids’ three] kind of deflated them a little bit because I think they were a little closer than what the score indicated.”
The Ravens entered into the second half with a newfound confidence after forwards Catherine Traer and Heather Lindsay scored six unanswered points to open the third quarter. The duo had combined for 19 of Carleton’s 52 points at that point, with most of the attack consisting of Traer from beyond the arc, and Lindsay working inside the paint.
Windsor would eventually answer Carleton’s challenge by hitting back-to-back three-point field goals from Lancers forward Nyamuoch Teny and guard Eve Uwayesu. However, the Ravens still built up a commanding 49-29 lead halfway through the quarter.
Although Windsor made a final attempt to regain control by scoring five unanswered points to open the fourth quarter, Carleton’s physical defence and fast-paced transition offence proved to be no match after a pair of fast-break layups by Trivieri and Traer. Traer would finish the game with a team-high 13 points and three rebounds.
“They’re a young team. I think what you saw is that they had some signs of really excellent play, and then they had signs of a little bit of inconsistencies,” Charles said about the Lancers.
The next night, the Ravens would take on the Western Mustangs, but fail to get off to a strong start. In the first quarter, sluggish ball possession resulted in the Ravens committing seven turnovers. Back-to-back three-pointers by Abella and Trivieri helped muster the Ravens offence back into the game as Carleton trailed Western 10-12 to end the quarter.
The second quarter would prove to be entirely different for Carleton after Lindsay grabbed an offensive board and converted for a three-point play to fire up the Ravens home crowd. Guard Alyssa Cerino continued to dissect the Mustangs defence by hitting a wide-open three to give Carleton their first double-digit lead of the game.
The Ravens would ultimately outscore the Mustangs 22-6 to end the second quarter, entering halftime up by a score of 32-18.
Poor rebounding by Western’s defence opened the door for Carleton guards Cerino and Cynthia Dupont to take advantage on the offensive end. Both Cerino and Dupont would finish the contest with a combined 14 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists while going 3-4 from beyond the arc.
A balanced attack from the Ravens’ bench players allowed the team to divert some of the attention from star players Traer and Lindsay, and made it difficult for Western to rally a late comeback due a great defensive stand by Carleton. The Ravens bench would ultimately accumulate 25 of the team’s 71 points.
Lindsay would come just one rebound short of completing the double-double, finishing the night with a team-leading 12 points, and nine rebounds. Traer also followed suit by recording an impressive 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, and six steals to end the game.
The Ravens will now look to extend their league-leading winning streak to eight games when they hit the road to take on another tough opponent in the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Nov. 24.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
