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OTTAWA, Ontario – Local bragging rights are headed back to uOttawa after the Gee-Gees got by the Carleton Ravens 61-52 in Friday night’s Capital Hoops Classic.
GAME FLOW
The opening half of the first quarter saw a scoring duel that featured entirely of Ravens guard and reigning OUA Player of the Week Nicole Gilmore, and Ottawa center Angela Ribarich. Both players had all their teams’ points as the sides sat at 4-4 after five minutes.
A three ball from Ottawa’s 5th year forward Jennifer Crowe gave the Gee-Gees a spark however, as they closed the quarter on a 9-2 run. Rookie guard and Ottawa native Alana Renon hit a three in the final minute to ensure the 13-6 lead after 10 minutes.
Ottawa pushed the lead all the way to 12 early in the 2nd quarter before Ravens forward Alyssa Cerino stopped the bleeding with a deep ball of her own. Another push by Ottawa bumped things up to 14 before Carleton executed an 8-0 run to get back in it, highlighted by an Emma Kiesekamp three ball. Again though Carleton had a poor close to the quarter, as the Gee-Gees rattled off a 5-0 run in the final minute to take a 29-18 lead into the break.
Down 10 early in the 3rd, Carleton once again turned to the ever reliable Gilmore to help them make a run back into the game. A 9-0 burst featured six points from the Hamilton native brought her side within one point. Ottawa would start to pull away again, but another Gilmore layup followed by an Emma Huff three pointer saw the Ravens down just 39-37 heading into the final frame.
A big and one connection from guard Madison Reid kicked off the 4th quarter to the delight of the Carleton end of the Canadian Tire Centre. This set off a back and forth of several lead changes throughout the quarter as the rivals continually answered each other’s shots. Gilmore and teammate Cynthia Dupont took over the scoring during the middle stretch of the quarter, including a powerful driving layup by Dupont to help see the score tied at 48 with four minutes to go.
Carleton ran into serious foul trouble in the final minutes however as Ottawa scored the next six points from the free throw line, the last of which came with Cerino fouling out of the game. Despite Dupont answering with another basket, part of her eight points during the quarter, a Sarah Besselink three ball was the dagger as Ottawa held on for the nine point win.
Head coach Taffe Charles explained afterwards that his team dug too big a hole early on in the game. “We spent a lot of energy trying to get back into the game. We weren’t deep enough, we didn’t get enough contributions. We had to scratch and claw in the first half just to keep it somewhere where it’s reasonable. The problem is that when you get to that fourth quarter you just run out of gas,” said Charles.
Charles also addressed the foul problems that hurt Carleton late in the game. “I was really disappointed in our foul situation. We’re tied 48-48 and all of a sudden we’re fouling people when we don’t need to foul people, putting them on the line for free, and you just can’t do that against a good team,” Charles said.
The result sees the two sides split the season series, after Carleton took the season opener from the Gee-Gees back in October. Nicole Gilmore once again led the way for the Ravens with 17 points, and ensured an impressive back to back double double by grabbing 11 rebounds. Carleton now sits at 15-4, good for 2nd in the OUA East as they get set for their final road trip of the regular season next weekend.
Ravens Player of the Game: Nicole Gilmore – Guard – 5th Year
Up next:
Carleton vs York
Friday, February 8 – 6pm
Tait Mackenzie Centre – Toronto, ON