Carleton University’s women’s hoops team will be leaving the national collegiate championship with some hardware — though not the colour they wanted.
In last weekend’s gold medal game, the Ravens fell to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, who won their third title in school history, by a score of 85-66.
The Ravens were led by fourth-year guard Teresa Donato (Ottawa, Ont.), who provided 24 points off the bench. Third-year guard Kyana Jade-Poulin (Montreal, Que.) also chipped in 14 points, while adding three rebounds and a pair of assists, but the Ravens fell behind early and were never able to catch up.
Saskatchewan held an eight-point lead after the first quarter and proceeded to outscore Carleton in the subsequent three quarters.
It’s the conclusion to a bittersweet season for Carleton’s women’s team, who only lost two games all year but failed to win either a provincial or national title.
The Ravens went 22-0 in the regular season and made quick work of their postseason opponents to reach the Ontario championship, but lost to their cross-town rival, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
With the runner-up finish, Carleton qualified for the national championship, entering the tournament as the second seed, which was hosted by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver this year.
The Ravens cruised past Bishop’s University in the quarterfinals and avenged their earlier loss by dispatching of the Gee-Gees in the semifinals by a score of 84-60, but ultimately fell short of winning the program’s third-consecutive title.
It should be noted that the nation’s capital was also represented in the men’s national championship, as the University of Ottawa entered the tournament as the top seed, but fell in the semifinals to the University of Victoria, the eventual Canadian champions.
The Gee-Gees rebounded by winning the bronze medal game over the University of Prince Edward Island.
