Day by day the number one ranked Carleton Ravens women's basketball team is building towards the OUA playoffs. With four games to play in the regular season the Ravens' 17-1 record is just 1 game ahead of the Queen's Gaels 17-2 mark. One week before travelling to Queen's, the Ravens welcome a pair of teams from downtown Toronto to campus with sights set on maintaining their OUA lead.
On Friday night, Black & McDonald presents Engineering Night as the Ravens welcome the Toronto Varsity Blues (5-13) to the Ravens' Nest. The Blues are deep in the OUA playoff race, battling for positioning while sitting 11th in the standings. Winners in back-to-back games over Laurentian and Nipissing the Blues are 3-6 in 2024, having won three of their last five games.
The Blues will lean on their OUA-leading 7.5 three-pointers made per game if they want to extend their win streak to three. Watch for Ellen Ougrinov and Raya Hafez to lead the charge from downtown. Both have shot more than 80 threes this season with Ougrinov shooting an OUA-best 73-196 from beyond the arc while leading the OUA in minutes played and minutes per game. Carleton will want to pressure the Blues leader, as her heavy minutes also see her at 6th in the OUA in turnovers.
On Saturday night it's a familiar visitor to the Nest as the TMU Bold pays a visit. The 14-4 Bold are bounced back after three straight loses to Western, Queen's and Guelph with a three-game win streak. Jayme Foreman leads a young TMU team with 252 points and the OUA's second-best free throw percentage (85.7). Look for Hailey Franco-DeRyck will cause issues for the Ravens inside. Currently second in the OUA in rebounds, Franco-Deryck is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game and 27 blocks.
Following the game on Saturday night the Ravens will celebrate their graduating players. Fans are encouraged to stay in their seats at the end of the contest as we thank our seniors for their contributions to the program.
