Ottawa, ON – The Carleton Ravens women’s basketball team ascended from the ashes of a scarce unfathomable first half to overcome their crosstown rival, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, with a 78-72 win.
The closing minutes consisted of everything you could’ve asked for. With the Ravens up three points, guard Dorcas Busia dived for a loose ball. As she slid across the floor, her outstretched arms wrapped around the ball, gripped ever so tightly that the Gee-Gees could not strip it away.
She was rewarded for her defensive tenacity, a jump ball possession was called with 37 seconds left in the game and her team led by three points.
As the Gee-Gees inbounded the ball, Tatyanna Burke stole a poorly executed handoff. But she missed a wide-open layup on the fast break, a rarity for the Ravens forward on the night.
As Ottawa grabbed the rebound and rushed up the court, Ravens guard Kali Pocrnic knocked the ball loose. It rattled around the court, arms flailed for the ball, but somehow it was Pocrnic who came away from the scramble with possession.
The Gee-Gees then made a vital mistake — committing an unsportsmanlike foul to send Pocrnic to the charity stripe and giving the Ravens possession.
It was a tight game right until that moment.
“It speaks to their character and competitiveness,” Ravens head coach Dani Sinclair said about her players. “It’s part of the culture that you try to maintain and sustain every day. There are times in practice … when they’re making similar types of plays and I’m worried they’re going to take each other out.”
The Gee-Gees drew first blood on the night, with guard Natsuki Szczokin letting it fly from three-point range. Their next two baskets came from the same distance, making it three consecutive baskets behind the arc for the Gee-Gees
The Ravens would respond with a scoring spree of their own while holding their rivals to a three-minute drought period. Ravens guard Kali Pocrnic proceeded to showcase a set of dribble moves that had fans in disbelief.
Her step-back dribble sent Ottawa guard Ariane Saumure the wrong way, but Pocrnic blanked her open three. A second cross-over hit another uOttawa guard, this time Nadine Katumbayi fell victim to an ankle breaker. As she tumbled to the ground fans all around TD Place Arena let out loud gasps.
The Gee-Gees entered a different gear in the second quarter. They scored 26 points and forced 7 turnovers from the Ravens. Szczokin had 17 points at the break and guard Ariane Saumure was right behind her teammate with 12. On the flip side, the Ravens missed 15 shots and trailed by 15 points.
Momentum favoured the Gee-Gees, while Carleton barely mustered 16 points. Heading into halftime, the Gee-Gees led 49-37.
But it was downhill from there. The Gee-Gees only scored 23 points for the rest of the night. Their shooting percentage dropped from 50 per cent in the first half to a game-low of 21 in the third quarter.
The Ravens’ 11-0 run cut the lead to two points. Outscoring their opposition by almost double showcased the confidence and composure of a defending championship team.
“We just looked at each other and said ‘It’s just a basketball game, whatever happens, happens. But at the end of the day, we need to do it for each other, and that was the main focus,” Pocrnic said.
The Gee-Gees were complacent and paid for it. Head coach Rose-Ann Joly said it all came down to leadership, or lack thereof for her side.
“We have trouble with leadership on the floor,” Joly said. “It was very loud and I can’t really communicate with my athletes. I need to see them show a little bit more leadership.”
Whatever momentum the Gee-Gees had in the first half, it had disappeared, or worse, transferred to the Carleton Ravens who have now won four straight Capital Hoop Classics.
