The Bytown Battle was last night at The Arena in TD Place when the 13-5 Carleton Ravens faced off against the 10-8 University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. The pressure was on for the Gee-Gees as 6,100 fans filled the stands, and UOttawa looked to take home the coveted Capital Hoops Classic trophy.
The wooden leaf has sat in the Raven’s nest for four consecutive years now, and it will be sitting for at least another one.
The first four minutes were all Carleton, where they led by as many as 11 points.
Catherine Oliver, the second-year guard from Sherbrooke, made her season debut and put on show for the crowd. After a season-ending injury last year, she was back in the first quarter and was showing UOttawa what they’d missed.
But after Allie McCarthy was fouled and made two clutch free throws to bring the deficit down to nine, the Gee-Gees had found their mojo and slowly started to cut down this loss.
By the end of the first quarter, the University of Ottawa had almost completely gotten rid of Carleton’s lead. It was 20-19 for the Ravens and both team’s leading scorers were just getting started.
McCarthy and Kyana-Jade Poulin meeting up is pretty special for OUA basketball fans. Two of the OUA’s leading scorers, McCarthy averages 20 points per game while Poulin averages 19. And it was telling as after the first quarter McCarthy was already up to seven points and Poulin was already sitting at double-digits with 10.
It was back-and-forth for the whole second quarter as Carleton continued to try to take their lead and run with it, but UOttawa continued to go shot for shot with them. By the time the clock hit four minutes to go, the game was tied for the first time.
And after two major three-point shots from the Gee-Gees guard Monika Reid, UOttawa had their first lead all game. Reid, the second year from Markham, averages three points per game, but with the stakes this high, she already had six in the second quarter.
When the buzzer rang to end the first half, the Ravens led by one. Head coach Dani Sinclair, at her sixth Capital Hoops, headed to the locker room to talk it out with her team.
After the 15-minute break, both teams were back in action. Whatever was said in the locker room turned up the dial for the Ravens, as they went on a 29 point run in the third quarter. Defensively, they also held the Gee-Gees to only 10 points.
A big part of that third quarter Ravens success was thanks to Poulin, who had nine points and four assists, just in those 10 minutes. She ended the game with a triple-double, scoring 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, breaking the record for most points for a women’s player in Capital Hoops history.
While the Gee-Gees tried to hold their own in the fourth and final quarter, Poulin and her dominant squad were just too much for them. Carleton went on another great scoring quarter, with 19 points and holding UOttawa to just 12.
With the final score being 87-60, this year’s Ravens roster cemented themselves in TD Place history, with the biggest deficit in Capital Hoops to date. The previous record was 73-50, back in 2016.
In typical, legendary coach fashion, Sinclair shared with OUATV after the game that she was happy about the win, but knew they could do better.
