On Saturday evening at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, the Carleton University Ravens dominated their in-city rivals — the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees — winning 84–60 to convincingly book their tickets to their third straight U Sports championship game.
The two teams met last week in the Ontario University Athletic conference championship, where Ottawa bested the otherwise undefeated Ravens 70–61 in a dramatic upset. Carleton had a score to settle and from the opening tip, it was clear they were playing with an extra level of intensity. Throughout the first quarter, Carleton’s press defence forced turnovers at an incredibly high rate — and Ottawa had no answers for the Ravens’ aggression.
While plenty of the Gee-Gees’ turnovers were a result of well-timed steals by Ravens defenders — like Tatyanna Burke and Teresa Donato, who both had two in the quarter — many were unforced errors.
Whether it was due to passes out of bounds or plain mishandling of the ball, Ottawa looked unprepared and Carleton capitalized. Overall, Ottawa had an abysmal 11 turnovers in the first. When asked about her defence’s hot start, Carleton head coach Dani Sinclair attributed the turnovers to her team’s persistent aggression.
“[It’s about] not playing tentative and being sure in what we’re doing,” she said. “[We were] probably a little pissed off about [the OUA championship].”
Even as Carleton’s offence got off to a slow start, only leading 4–3 four minutes into the quarter, their defence kept earning them more opportunities with the ball. Soon, the Ravens started hitting from three, and in the blink of an eye, the they were up 26–7 to end the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Carleton offence hit another brief lull, but the defence continued to pressure the Gee-Gees. As Ottawa looked to spark a comeback, the Ravens suffocated their attack, contesting almost every shot attempt. Carleton maintained their chokehold on the game, up 46–19 at the half.
Carleton got off to a fast start after half, increasing their lead to 31 — until Ottawa made a significant push. Suddenly catching fire from beyond the arc, the Gee-Gee’s went on a 15–0 run, fueled by three consecutive three-pointers from guard Bailey Russell. Adding on two more threes from Allie McCarthy bumped Ottawa’s tally to 45 going into the fourth. Down by 14, it was an inexplicably close score considering the halftime deficit.
Yet, in the fourth quarter, Carleton immediately demonstrated why they’re two-time defending national champions. At the first sight of a potential comeback, the Ravens stomped out their opponent, going on a 17–5 run to start the quarter and cruising to an eventual 84–60 victory.
With the win, the Ravens will aim for a three-peat championship. They will advance to the national title game on March 16 at 4 p.m. in the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, where they’ll take on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies — who they narrowly defeated in last year’s championship.
This article is part of our 2025 Final 8 coverage. Follow us at @UbysseySports on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, as well as @theubyssey on TikTok, to follow our U Sports basketball coverage starting March 12.
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