Jenjen Abella, Nicole Gilmore and Alyssa Cerino finished off their Ontario University Athletics (OUA) season back where it all began.
The three Hamilton-area natives on the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team came back to their hometown with hopes of winning the Critelli Cup, and left with the trophy after beating the McMaster Marauders in the finals 75-66 on March 3.
“It’s a really emotional win because more family and friends were here to support,” Abella noted. “Ever since I’ve been little, they’ve been there for me, and it’s happy to get an OUA championship in front of them and them being happy for me.”
It was the second straight title for this core group of players. For the six graduating players on the team, it’s also their last.
“I’d say nothing compares to the first,” said centre Heather Lindsay, who is part of the graduating contingent of players. “We were all just so excited and we’re really excited about it this year, but our goal is to win the nationals.”
The team has been through a lot to get here. Years of playoff disappointments: losing to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in 2015, and the Windsor Lancers in 2016 before capturing their first Critelli Cup in 2017.
“Some of the girls that have been here have shed blood, sweat and tears for three, four, five years even and man, they haven’t had it easy,” said fifth-year forward Catherine Traer, who joined the team in 2016. “They had a few rough years.”
Then, heartbreak, as Lindsay called it. The Ravens fell to the McGill Martlets 66-60 in the U Sports national championship semi-finals last March. It’s a loss that lingers for the team to this day.
“We always think of the loss to McGill in the semi-finals,” Traer said. “It’s always in the back of my mind.”
The pain of this defeat stings for guard Stephanie Carr too, who recalled not winning anything in her university career until last year’s OUA title.
“Personally, I definitely think about it before every game,” the Stittsville-native said. “Because that’s not something that we want to happen again ever.”
It’s a loss that motivated them, according to the players, and added to the sense of urgency.
“The bad thing about having graduating players is they’re not going to be here next year,” head coach Taffe Charles said. “The good news is they’re very desperate . . . They’ve got to use it to their advantage.”
The players have also individually weathered hardships and tough times to be where they are today, being the top-ranked and only undefeated women’s basketball team in Canada.
“I think each person has gone through their own battles,” Carr said. “I can go through [all 13 players] and they’ve had to make crazy sacrifices to get us to where we are.”
It rings especially true for the seniors. Carr almost quit the team multiple times because of school; Abella wasn’t recruited initially but found her way to Carleton; Traer missed over a year with injuries, and Elizabeth Leblanc found it tough being away from her family, especially her brother and new nephew.
“I think basketball’s kind of like an outlet,” Leblanc explained. “So when I’m playing basketball, I’m not thinking about that stuff, so it helps . . . keep my mind off things and we have a goal: we want to get the [national title] and it’s worth it.”
The finality has helped motivate Abella, as she is still dealing with an ankle injury.
“Just not thinking about it is my mentality at this point, and playing with these girls is all that matters,” Abella said.
The graduating players said they understand this is their last chance at winning a national title.
“It’s do-or-die,” Abella said. “There’s no going back. There’s no second chance next year. Literally, this is our only chance to win.”
Rookies Madison Reid and Emma Kiesekamp said they realize and embrace the urgency too.
“So many of them are leaving, so it’s just important for Madison and I to play our part and play our role on the team, just try our hardest and try to help motivate everybody else to give it their all,” Kiesekamp said. “I think we all want this all so bad.”
The Ravens have two OUA second team all-stars and one third team all-star on their roster, while Leblanc was named OUA defensive player of the year.
For Leblanc, falling short this time isn’t an option.
“We wouldn’t be satisfied with it because we know our potential, and if we lose, it would be our own doing and that would be the hardest pill to swallow,” she said.
For the players, a potential national championship would be even more memorable given the journey traveled. Gilmore called it “surreal.” Abella said it would be “the perfect ending.”
For most of them, it’s also likely the end of their high-level playing careers.
“I’ll cry for sure. I know I’ll cry,” Abella said. “It’s just, all the hard work that we’ve done as a team and as a group. You’re going to have so many emotions within you. ”
The game against McMaster was symbolic of the team’s history: Carleton facing adversity early on, rallying from a halftime deficit, and fending off the Marauders offensive runs to come out victorious.
The team will fly to Regina for the U Sports nationals on March 8-11 with dreams of capturing their first national title. But first, they enjoyed the moment in Hamilton, mobbing each other in celebration at half-court, taking pictures with the cup, with smiles and joy on their faces.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
