University of Saskatchewan Huskies' Tea DeMong (4) goes up for the shot as Carleton Ravens' Jacqueline Urban (22) and teammate Tatyanna Burke (6) try to block during first half USports Women's Final Basketball Championship, in Edmonton, Sunday, March 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
EDMONTON – The Carleton Ravens have defended their U Sports women’s basketball title.
The second-seeded Ravens won a 70-67 thriller over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Sunday’s championship game at Edmonton’s Saville Centre.
Husky Logan Reider’s last-ditch three-point effort to tie the game hit the backboard and rimmed out.
The Ravens scoring-by-committee effort outdid a heroic night from Saskatchewan’s Gabe Grassick, who put up 30 points for the Huskies.
The Huskies led 63-59 halfway through the fourth quarter, after a three-pointer from Carly Ahlstrom brought the heavily pro-Saskatchewan crowd to its feet. But the Huskies’ shooting went ice cold down the stretch.
A field goal from Tatyanna Burke gave Carleton a 64-63 lead. Burke’s field goal to give Carleton a five-point lead with just 47 seconds left was the dagger through the Huskies’ collective heart. She finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Ravens guard Kali Pocrnic, who had been held to just four points in the first half, heated up in the second. She led the Ravens with 18 points. Pocrnic had been the Ravens’ star in the lead-up to the final, scoring 22 points in the semifinals and 25 in the quarterfinal stage.
The game brought together the two dominant programs in women’s basketball over the last decade. Going into the game, Saskatchewan and Carleton accounted for four national championships over the past seven years.
Grassick committed two fouls early in the first quarter, but coach Claire Meadows elected to keep her in the game. It was the right call, as her 30 points and five assists together accounted for more than half of the Huskies’ offence.
Despite being a smaller team than the Huskies, the Ravens won the rebounding battle by a 45-42 margin. They were led by Jacqueline Urban’s 13 boards. She was injured late in the second quarter after a collision with Saskatchewan’s Courtney Primeau, but returned after the half with a taped right knee.
BASELINES: Despite being the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the Final 8, Carleton and Saskatchewan didn’t get a player on U Sports’ season-ending All-Canadian First Team. Gage Grassick (Saskatchewan) and Kali Pocrnic (Carleton) were on the Second Team. “¦ Laval won the bronze-medal game 76-62 over Queen’s, led by 25 points from Léa-Sophie Verret. “¦ The host University of Alberta Pandas lost the fifth-place game 65-62 to the St. Mary’s Huskies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2024.
