The Carleton Ravens celebrated their 2024 U SPORTS Women’s Basketball title three times in a matter of seconds.
In the moments after Logan Reider’s late, nearly buzzer-beating Saskatchewan Huskies shot ricocheted off the rim, the clock slightly malfunctioned, forcing Carleton to restart twice and kill less than two seconds.
That sliver of time and quick refocus didn’t throw off the Ravens, though, as they went on to secure a dramatic 70-67 victory over the Huskies at the University of Alberta on Sunday night, defending their 2023 U SPORTS banner, which they won in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Carleton point-guard Kali Pocrnic, in what could have been her final U SPORTS game, led the Ravens with 18 points on the night, and despite being far lower than her peak outputs this season, had ample help from teammates, with five other players scoring nine points or more.
“That game could’ve gone either way. I have so much respect for the Huskies program,” said Ravens head coach Dani Sinclair in a post-game press release. “We played some tough teams in the OUA, but that was a tough group to play against.”
The Ravens trailed with six minutes remaining in the game, as the partisan crowd favouring the Huskies pushed the Canada West side on, before the two-time defending OUA Critelli Cup champions won the fourth quarter 16-9, powering their eventual victory.
Bringing the game to the final fractions of a second, the Huskies did not go down easy against Carleton. U SPORTS All-Canadian Gage Grassick scored a game-high and tournament-high 30 points while adding six rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block.
“We base ourselves on our defence. We were a bit scattered early on. Gage was terrific for them. But the final three minutes we really settled in, focused on our rotations, and needed to play lockdown defence,” Sinclair added.
Despite the late-game scare, the Ravens were able to secure their second title in a row and third in the last six seasons as the women’s program looks to continue the university’s dominance in U SPORTS basketball, even as the men take a downturn, having missed out on the men’s Final 8 Championship.
With the win, the Ravens continued a 13-year run for Carleton basketball, of either the men’s or women’s teams winning a national title.