Back-to-back double-doubles helped guarantee an unbeaten weekend for the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
The Ravens powered their way past the Waterloo Warriors on Friday night, winning 76-57. A blistering 24 points in the opening quarter plus 13 steals sealed the win.
They were also able to outlast the Laurier Golden Hawks, winning 58-53, Dec. 1.
The wins keep the Ravens in fifth place in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rankings as well as top of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division.
While the Nov. 30 game looked a certain win after the opening quarter, the following night never looked as sure.
The Ravens were looking to solidify their hold on top spot in the OUA East but were forced to go the distance against a resilient Golden Hawks team.
Playing against the Golden Hawks on their turf has been a bogey game for the Ravens in recent years.
“We’ve had a lot of problems winning at Laurier,” head coach Taffe Charles said. “I don’t think we’ve won there in three years.”
And the Ravens struggled to get that monkey off their back, with the Golden Hawks edging the Ravens in the first half of action.
After some words of wisdom from Charles at half-time, the team came out edging the next two quarters to steal the win from the Golden Hawks’ grasp.
First-year forward Lindsay Shotbolt led the team with a double-double, 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“She’s just getting her feet wet now, but I think she’s going to become even better,” Charles said.
Her teammates were also not surprised by her recent performances.
“She works her butt off in practice and I’m not surprised by how well she’s doing,” fourth-year forward Kendall MacLeod said. “I’m probably more excited about it as we need that sort of person to step up.”
While the Golden Hawks relied heavily on the skilled work of Amber Hillis from outside the paint, the Ravens’ depth came to the rescue.
Hillis scored one third of the Golden Hawks’ points with less contribution coming from the field.
Shotbolt and sophomore forward Darcy Hawkins led in points for the Ravens but were backed up by veteran guards Alyson Bush and Krista Van Slingerland, who chucked in eight points apiece.
Quick transitions from defending to attacking was prevalent in the game, which has been a hallmark of the Ravens team under Charles.
While the Ravens were outmuscled on defensive rebounds in the game against the Warriors, their 13 steals ensured quick attacking breaks.
The opposite worked out for the same on Dec. 1. The Ravens had fewer steals than the Golden Hawks but were superior on their defensive rebounding.
The Ravens will not take to the court until Dec. 28, when they head to Concordia University to take part in the Concordia Reebok Challenge. Regular season action will resume on Jan. 4, when Carleton heads to Laurentian University.
“We still have a lot of work to do and some major games to play,” MacLeod said. “Hopefully we’ll keep it going for the next half of the season.”
