OTTAWA (Mar. 1, 2025) - The Carleton Ravens are heading back to the U SPORTS Final 8 after a decisive 76-60 win over the TMU Bold on Saturday night. The Ravens OUA semifinal victory guarantees the team a shot at a third consecutive Bronze Baby and will see the Ravens host the Critelli Cup Final for the second straight season.
After Kait Nichols made it a two-point game at the line, Tatyanna Burke (Winona, Ont.) put back an offensive board off of a Nathalie Francis miss to build momentum. Francis would put back an offensive board of her own in the dying seconds of the quarter and the Ravens would lead by eight after 10 minutes.
Burke continued her strong play to open the quarter scoring on a nice drive to the hoop in transition before knocking down a pair at the line to put Carleton up 12. The two teams would go shot-for-shot until midway through the quarter when Kyana-Jade Poulin (Montreal, Que.) nailed a three to put the Ravens ahead by 16.
Poulin would knock down another three a minute later, and Carleton started rolling. After finishing a traditional three-point play at the line, Poulin would steal the inbound pass by Kait Nichols and extend the Ravens lead to the largest lead of the half at 23 points.
The two teams would go back-and-forth in the third, with Jacqueline Urban (Ancaster, Ont.) and Teresa Donato each dropped five points to hold the lead at 24. The Bold rallied in the fourth, capitalizing on four Ravens turnovers to outscore Carleton 14-7. Catrina Garvey scoring 7 points, the TMU rebound wasn't enough as they couldn't overcome the massive deficit.
The Ravens were strong in the paint on Saturday, outscoring TMU 48-20 while outrebounding the Bold 47-25.
With the win the Ravens will now advance to the Critelli Cup for the third straight season as they prepare to host the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday, March 8.
