The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team lost 62-58 in overtime against the Queen’s University Gaels in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East Division final March 1.
It was a defensive game from the outset, with the Ravens trailing 26-25 at halftime. Points continued to be tough to come by throughout the game as the teams were tied 48-48 at the end of the fourth quarter.
“Both teams knew each other pretty well, both teams were prepared and ready to go, but the pressure of the moment got to us a little bit,” Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said. “We had a good week of preparation and we were familiar with their personnel.”
Carleton and Queen’s met twice during the regular season and split the series. Carleton won the first game 57-55 and lost the second 63-58.
The Ravens were strong throughout the second and third quarters, but could not hold off the Gaels. With the Ravens down 48-45 as time was running out, first-year guard McKenzie Sigurdson hit a three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
Fifth-year guard Elizabeth Roach said the atmosphere on the bench was electric and losing in overtime was disappointing.
“We had the whole week to focus on Queen’s. I felt we didn’t execute at the end of the day, we missed some shots,” she said. “We know we don’t want to feel this way again.”
Roach led the way offensively with 27 points and added two assists. She displayed clutch shooting, going three for seven from beyond the three-point line while adding two rebounds.
“She’s been our leader all year. She’s been our best player all year. The moment wasn’t too big for her and she made shots when we needed it,” Charles said. “I think she kept us in single-handedly at times, she had an awesome game.”
Lindsay Shotbolt was also strong, scoring 10 points and collecting 13 rebounds.
Roach said going into the game the Ravens knew it was going to be a defensive battle. She said both teams have a strong focus on defence, but the Ravens could have hit more shots.
“Everyone was really trying hard, but sometimes the shots don’t fall,” she said.
Charles said despite the disappointment of a loss, the team is not done. The Ravens will meet the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks March 8 in the OUA bronze-medal game. It will also decide which team gets the final OUA berth for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship tournament.
Roach said the team will be looking forward to the next game rather than focusing on the loss. She said the loss was difficult and it will motivate the team during practice.
“We’re more mentally tired than physically tired at this point. These kids have done everything they can. [Queen’s] was a good preparation for the next game,” Charles said. “We need to remember what we did positively [in the last game] and keep our emotions in check.”
