In an intense rematch against the uOttawa Gee-Gees at Montpetit Hall on Wednesday, the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team narrowly lost 57-54, their third loss of the season.
This was the second time the Ravens and the Gee-Gees faced off this year after a 63-43 Carleton win at Capital Hoops on Feb. 14.
Wednesday’s game was back-and-forth from the start, with both teams immediately ready to fight. Guard Emma Huff got the first basket for the Ravens and guard Tatyanna Burke wasn’t far behind.
Huff finished the game with 16 points while Burke had 15.
Neither team had complete control of the game, with both fighting hard to keep control of the court. By the end of the first quarter, the Gee-Gees led 14-11.
The Gee-Gees had success with three-point shots throughout the game, netting seven to Carleton’s one. Carleton struggled to rebound, particularly offensively, leading to lost second and third attempts.
The Gee-Gees did an effective job of breaking down the Ravens’ defence, easily moving around and scoring baskets.
“They just completely outworked us and outplayed us from start to finish,” Carleton head coach Dani Sinclair said.
Even with the Ravens’ struggles, they led 30-28 at halftime and were tied 54-54 with 1:27 left in the game.
The second half was so back-and-forth that the teams often remained within a point of each other. At one point, guard Madison Reid made a three-point shot just for the Gee-Gees to follow it up with a three-pointer of their own.
“They just responded really well,” Sinclair said. “They made some adjustments against us and we turned the ball over too much and gave them way too many [offensive] boards.”
Going into the final quarter, the Ravens led by only one point. The crowd was enthusiastic throughout the game, especially as the teams were neck-and-neck with only minutes left on the clock.
Ultimately, however, Carleton fell just short of victory.
“We’re not a very good team when we don’t fight,” Sinclair said, “and we can be a very good team when we do.”
The Gee-Gees appeared to have more communication than the Ravens, something Carleton has struggled with throughout the season.
“We were really uptight, to be honest,” Sinclair said. “We should be having fun during a game like that when it’s close against your biggest rival, but we were just really uptight and quiet.”
Sinclair said she didn’t see many positives from the game.
“The positive is that we can’t be much worse,” she said. “You can’t let a team be tougher than you and play harder than you.”
The Ravens will play the Queen’s University Gaels on March 11 on the road and March 12 at the Ravens’ Nest to conclude the regular season. Queen’s sits fourth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division with an 8-4 record.
Featured image by Isaac Phan Nay.
