For the Ravens women’s basketball squad — who only lost one regular season game across the two previous seasons — a 7-3 record was an unlikely position heading into the holidays.
They dropped back-to-back games before the break, and Friday night’s 57-43 loss against the undefeated Queen’s Gaels worsened the blow. The loss marked their lowest scoring contest of the season and extended their regular season skid to three games — something the Ravens hadn’t faced since 2020.
“The hardest is when you have to sit with back-to-back losses going into the break,” head coach Dani Sinclair said after the game. “But as a coach you don’t mind it because it’s a motivator through that break and the Christmas practices.”
Saturday night’s game against the 0-12 Ontario Tech Ridgebacks was an unmissable opportunity to jump back into the win column.
And the Ravens made it happen, dropping the Ridgebacks 56-39 in front of the home crowd.
“We did see a lot of progress and how we could move forward, just building on this one after a couple losses,” forward Jacqueline Urban said after the game. “It was a gritty win back and forth, and we weren’t as consistent as we would like to be.”
The win didn’t come easily for the Ravens, who stayed level with the Ridgebacks throughout the entire first half and struggled offensively, posting their second-lowest winning score in a win this season.
“We’re gonna have to hold teams to pretty low scores, it seems, because we have trouble scoring,” Sinclair said after the game. “We shoot the ball that poorly in our own gym and have trouble making layups.”
Sinclair said both the inexperience of the younger squad and mental setbacks led to the Ravens’ underwhelming offense. Sinclair also pointed to her players not understanding the drive and intensity needed to compete at the university level.
“At some point you have to turn it on, and it feels like we’re still just okay with the ups and downs,” Sinclair said. “We’ve [won] this for years and years, and at some point you’ve got to grab the bull by the horns and take control.”
The Ravens’ defense made up for their lacklustre offence. Through effective coverages, forcing poor shots and a dominant defensive rebounding performance, the Ravens allowed their fewest points against this season.
But the Ridgebacks weren’t backing down against the Ravens’ defense.
Despite their 0-12 record, Ontario Tech was only bested by six points when they hosted Carleton in November and trailed the Ravens closely in the first half. The Ridgebacks led for a majority of the opening frame but could not contain Ravens guard Kyana-Jade Poulin.
Poulin, who’s been a dominant force for the Ravens’ offense this season, ranks fifth in the OUA in points per game and assists. The fourth-year guard finished with a game-high 18 points, including 10 of the Ravens’ 17 points in the opening frame.
While Poulin and Urban showcased their on-court talents, Sinclair called on them before the season to contribute beyond the scoresheet. Especially with a younger, less experienced roster filled with rookies and second-year players, Sinclair said she looks to the veteran pair for leadership and consistency in these low-scoring affairs.
“[Urban’s] pretty level-headed when it comes to putting the ball in the basket and rebounding,” Sinclair said. “Everybody else, it’s like this panic when they get the ball. [Urban] doesn’t do that.”
Ravens rookie Olivia Richardson echoed her coach’s praise of the pair, appreciating their support in games and throughout her transition to university competition.
“They’ve done a really good job in making us [new players] all feel welcome and all feel prepared for situations we haven’t been in before,” Richardson said. “It all comes from our bench energy — we just feed into each other, and we can find where things are working.”
Bouncing back from a four-point, five-rebound showing against Queen’s the night before, Urban
posted her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Urban played on both the interior and perimeter of the court.
“I found it fun because I do like to shoot, I think it’s one of my strengths that I’ve worked on,” Urban said. “I did enjoy playing outside, but I think my heart is always a bit inside.”
Fueled by Urban and Poulin’s leadership and play-calling, the Ravens scraped together some momentum heading into the first half. The Ravens built an eight-point lead thanks to inbound pressing and forced several of the Ridgebacks’ 19 total turnovers.
The pressure continued in the second half, and the Ravens didn’t turn back, pushing the lead to 17 points at the final buzzer. Although the Ravens only posted 22 points in the second half, with 10 in the final quarter, they shut down the Ridgebacks’ offense, who were limited to seven and six in the final two quarters.
The Ravens will look to improve on their 5-1 home record next weekend, when they host the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (4-8) and TMU Bold (12-1), two shooting teams.
“[We will be] getting a lot of reps this week in practice knowing that we have two really good competitive Toronto teams coming in to play,” Urban said.
“They’re always a tough battle.”
Featured image by Nathan Cox/the Charlatan
