Photo by Valerie Wutti
A new era of Ravens women’s basketball will tip-off on November 5, 2021 with head coach Dani Sinclair making a long-awaited debut as bench boss following her appointment on March 31, 2020. In their last season of play before the COVID pandemic cancelled the 2020-21 campaign, the Ravens enjoyed periods of success and ultimately finished in 5th place at 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 in Ottawa. With a long 19-month break away from the court and competitive play, the Ravens will look to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the conference in 2021-22.SEASON SCHEDULETICKETS
Photo: Valerie Wutti
Under interim head coach Brian Cheng, the Ravens finished with a respectable 15-7 regular season mark, and a 24-11 record overall. Carleton began the preseason by capturing the McKeen Metro Glebe Tournament title and by winning nine of the first 10 regular season games, however, the team lost momentum down the stretch with a four-game skid in the lead up to the postseason. After securing a first-round playoff win over York, rival uOttawa knocked the Ravens out of the Critelli Cup playoffs at the quarterfinal stage. Carleton would be afforded a season lifeline as U SPORTS Final 8 hosts, and while they showed fight against eventual national champion Saskatchewan in the quarterfinal, the Huskies ended Carleton’s title dreams at TD Place in the opening matchup. The Ravens showed resiliency by bouncing back with an impressive victory over the Alberta Pandas, but would suffer defeat in the consolation bracket season finale against the Calgary Dinos.
2021 ROSTER
#9 Madison Reid – Guard –Fourth Year
Madison Reid (Carleton Place, ON) will once again be given an opportunity lead Carleton’s offence after tying for a team-high 15.4 points per game during the 2019-20 season. Reid scored a career-high 33 points in the U SPORTS Final 8 consolation semifinal win over Alberta, showing that she can make big shots in important games, and will look to build on last season’s scoring success.
#4 Kali Pocrnic – Guard – Second Year
As an OUA All-Rookie Team selection in 2019-20, Kali Pocrnic (Oakville, ON) started all 22 regular season games where she dished out a team-high 2.9 assists and saw 30.1 minutes of floor time per game. In three U SPORTS national tournament contests, Pocrnic averaged 10.3 points, demonstrating that she is ready to become a regular offensive contributor.
#6 Tatyanna Burke – Guard – Second Year
Tatyanna Burke (Winona, ON) joined Pocrnic on the 2019-20 OUA All-Rookie Team with an equally impressive debut season at the Ravens’ Nest. Burke averaged 9.3 points and pulled down 7.1 rebounds per game in 22 regular season starts. Burke nearly had a triple double in the consolation semifinal win over Alberta with 11 points, seven rebounds and six steals, and will look to build on her solid all-round skills in 2021-22.
Senior guard Emma Kiesekamp (Merrickville, ON) will look to solidify her spot in the Ravens’ starting lineup this year after averaging 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 2019-20. Kiesekamp, who started in 20 of her 21 regular season appearances as a sophomore, had a reduced role in her junior season, but will look to bounce back and take on a bigger leadership position in her fourth year.
Guard Emma Huff (Chelsea, QC) will be given more touches and opportunity to shine in her third season after being embracing the sixth-player role in 2019-20. Huff averaged 6.0 points per game while leading the team with a 76% mark from the free throw line (min. 25 attempts).
Oceane Kounkou (Gatineau, QC) who played with the Buffalo Bulls (NCAA) prior to transferring to Carleton, will look to make an impact in her first season with the Ravens after spending her first two collegiate seasons playing south of the border.
Carleton will miss the services of graduated star forward Alyssa Cerino, whose presence was vital to the Ravens’ success at both ends of the floor. Cerino was the Ravens’ MVP and an OUA First Team All-Star in 2019-20, as well as a Third Team conference selection in 2018-19. Guard Marlee Ball was a key cog in the team’s setup in 2019-20, where she averaged 10.7 points per game in 22 regular season games and was a starter in all five of her team’s playoff games. Ball recently signed a deal to play with the Gloucester City Queens of the WBBL in the United Kingdom.
The Ravens are just three years removed from their first and only women’s basketball national championship in 2017-18. Reid and Kiesekamp are the lone holdovers from the team which captured the Baby Bronze Trophy and will hope to guide a young Ravens team back to postseason success. Carleton will play an OUA East intra-division regular season schedule in 2021-22, with their key games coming against perennial conference contenders Queen’s, Ryerson and uOttawa. Head coach Dani Sinclair brings 15 years of coaching experience at the U SPORTS level to Carleton, including eight seasons as head coach at the University of Victoria. Having spent the past year and a half getting to know her players and implement her system, albeit in a less than ideal pandemic-impacted environment, Sinclair will look to lead the Ravens back to national prominence in the years to come.