Stephanie Carr, the fifth year Ravens guard, couldn’t hold back tears after the buzzer sounded as the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team beat the Saskatchewan Huskies 69-48 to claim their first-ever national title.
“The emotions: I could not contain myself, it was insane,” she said.
The players say this championship is much more than just a sporting achievement. It’s one that transcends Carleton’s undefeated season and even the fact that it’s their first-ever national title.
“Every girl went through their hardships to get here, and it’s just a huge realization of our dreams and how strong we are as people, and we can all overcome anything that life throws at us and achieve our goals,” Carr said.
Jenjen Abella and Cynthia Dupont were overlooked by universities and had to apply themselves. They both contacted head coach Taffe Charles to convince him to give them a chance. They have now succeeded at the highest stage.
Dupont and Alyssa Cerino both endured personal tragedy, having lost loved ones. Catherine Traer missed over a year with injuries, including concussions.
Carr herself almost quit the team multiple times after having to balance basketball and her biomedical engineering degree. She would go to practices at times having had no sleep the night before.
“The reason why I wanted to get this done was all the sacrifice, all the trials and tribulations of playing,” Charles said. “Being a varsity athlete, most of these kids could have better marks. Most of these kids sacrifice their friends. So, I was just happy to get that for them. Every sacrifice they’ve made is vindicated by this victory.”
They made sacrifices and faced adversity at nationals as well, which was symbolic of the long road taken.
The Ravens were delayed while flying there, having to travel to Vancouver after their flight from Calgary was cancelled before arriving in Regina at 1 a.m.
Abella played through a nagging ankle injury, while Nicole Gilmore hobbled off with a leg injury against the Calgary Dinos in the quarterfinals. Charles ordered ice baths after the game.
“Our bodies are failing us at the moment,” Traer noted after the semifinal win against the McGill Martlets. They continued to fight through it. Elizabeth Leblanc logged 38 heavy and exhausting minutes that game.
Gilmore jogged around the hotel hallways and rode the stationary bike during games, trying to get back into game shape, with the help of the team physios. It worked as she chipped in eight points in the finals, including a few crucial three-pointers.
The Ravens didn’t hold a lead against McGill. That was until Traer hit a floater with 1.6 seconds left, causing the Ravens team to jump off the bench. The Ravens prevailed in a game where they struggled offensively but never gave up.
It was redemption for last year’s heartbreaking loss to the Martlets; a new, happier memory for Heather Lindsay, who said she thought about that defeat for “365 days.”
“It was our last time together, and I’m happy we all did it together and we sacrificed a lot throughout this whole weekend,” Abella said.
So, how did these players make it through all the adversity? Hard work, Leblanc said.
“Heart,” Charles added.
“I’m just proud of their resiliency,” he said. “Each and every day working hard, 120 to 140 practices, countless shoots, countless film sessions. I’m proud of all that they’ve been through.”
Players underlined another key reason: unity.
“Yeah we’re talented and yeah, we work hard and stuff, but the bond that we have as a team is what makes us really have good chemistry and makes us want to share the ball in games,” Dupont noted. She calls the team “her second family.”
The team entered the U Sports finals against the Huskies slowly, as the Ravens fell to a 15-9 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Traer was able to spark the Ravens offensively, attacking the paint and hitting a three-pointer followed by a layup.
The third saw the Ravens take charge of the game, with Gilmore netting back-to-back three-pointers. Throughout the second half of the game, the Ravens depth was showcased as multiple players all strongly contributed to the lead.
In the fourth quarter the Carleton team went on a 12 point run to push the score to 60-40. Holding off the Huskies for the rest of the game the Ravens came out on top 69-48, winning the national title.
“I would say on this team there’s not one leader: there’s 13 leaders and 13 strong, intelligent and brave, powerful women,” Traer added. “All year, we’ve battled together when times are tough, when our coach is tough, we do it together and we fight together.”
The team has fought its way to a national title, a lifelong dream realized for many players. None of them had ever won a national title before this.
“It’s the absolute perfect ending to my career,” Carr said. “A happy memory forever,” for her and a sense of closure for the graduating players.
Traer reflected on her first trip to nationals in 2013 in Regina when her old team, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, lost to the Windsor Lancers. Now, she’s finished the job as a Raven.
“I thought, ‘we can do this,’ ” she said. “‘Anyone who puts their mind to it can do this’.”
Dupont said the title “means everything.” The seniors called it “a fairytale ending.” They are national champions for life; “something nobody can take away from you,” as Gilmore put it.
The team will see six players depart this year. Traer and Lindsay are looking at still playing basketball in the future, many not. Dupont still has to decide between playing another year at Carleton or pursuing a career in nursing.
On a cold Sunday night in Regina, that didn’t matter as they mobbed each other at half-court, faces filled with ecstasy and joy. There were hugs, smiles and emotions. Tears too.
For the first time the Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team are national champions.
Photo by Michael Sun
