The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team capped off a winning weekend with a blowout 58-31 win over the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins Jan. 21.
The win was the Ravens’ second in as many nights, following a 59-27 victory over the Queen’s Gaels the previous night.
But Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said he was far from satisfied with the win.
“I thought we probably could have made some more shots,” Charles said. “We won, but I don’t know how much better we got today.”
Fatigue was one concern for Charles. The game was the Ravens’ fourth in the span of seven days, which included the emotional Capital Hoops Classic.
“Maybe we were tired. It seemed like people weren’t really willing to dig in as much as they have in the past,” Charles said. “Obviously a win’s a win, but I’d like to see us play a little bit better.”
Ravens guard Alyson Bush, who had a game-high 18 points, agreed with her coach’s assessment. The focus wasn’t all there, she said.
“We’re supposed to force their weaknesses and at times that didn’t happen,” Bush said. “The results are good but we have things we need to work on going into the second half of the season.”
Coming off a disappointing loss to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the Jan. 18 Capital Hoops Classic, Charles said getting back into the win column last weekend was important.
“The way things are working out for us, we can’t afford to drop too many games against teams that we need to beat,” Charles said. “It’s been a long haul . . . we’ve got a bit of a break right now. We are going to get some people healthy and hopefully we can play a little bit better.”
“[Capital Hoops] was a game we wanted to win, and now we are looking to the future and now we have to get going,” Bush said. “Going into this second-half [of the season], it is really important for us to win the rest of our games in order to do well in the playoffs.”
Following a tight first quarter, the Ravens exploded in the second frame, outscoring the Paladins 24-2. The Paladins’ only two points came from foul shots made late in the quarter.
“What happened there? Well it’s probably Bush,” Charles said. “We were horrible in the first quarter and she’s the best shooter on the team and she decided, ‘You know what? I am just going to shoot it’ and she had three threes and 12 points.”
But the Ravens were sluggish in the third quarter, netting only 10 points. They were outscored 25-24 in the entire second half.
The Ravens play a crucial game against the York Lions Jan. 27. The teams are tied in the OUA East standings and are jostling for an important second-place position behind the University of Ottawa.
Looking forward to the next game, Charles reiterated the importance of his team’s focus level.
“When it is [there], we are a good team and when we’re not, we’re not very good.”
