Photo by Marc Lafleur
TORONTO – The Ravens suffered their first loss in a tight match against the York Lions, losing 71-69. The Ravens exhausted their opponents by keeping a quick pace but could not catch up during the last quarter.
Kali Pocrnic (Oakville, Ont.) led the team in the first half. The dynamic point guard continued her strong effort as the Ravens led after the first quarter 12-11.
The Ravens dominated on the offence during the second quarter. Madison Reid (Carleton Place, Ont.) was sharp from beyond the arc. After two quarters, the Ravens led 34-25.
After halftime, the Ravens continued to put pressure on their opponents. Emma Huff (Chelsea, Que.) was able to find the open spots on the court to receive passes from Pocrnic. The two players continued their impressive work as Pocrnic finished with six assists, and Huff completed three of her six field-goal attempts as the Ravens led after the third quarter 58-45.
Despite a 13-point lead to start the third quarter, the Lions stormed back, putting the Ravens on their heels throughout the quarter before taking a lead into the final minute. The Ravens offence had no answers for tight pressure from the Lions, and after being forced to foul late in the contest the Lions would dominate the glass in the final seconds, closing out the Ravens and handing them their first loss of the season.
Coach Dani Sinclair was disappointed by the team’s performance. But, the coach remains optimistic for their next game. “There’s going to be a bit of reflection now. There’s some disappointment in losing this game. There’s also a bit of a high on the other side. We should be pretty motivated to come back and respond,” said Sinclair. The coach is now directing her attention to improving the Raven’s defensive technique. “They went on a really long run where we had trouble scoring. We were turning the ball over,” Sinclair explained. The team will play the York Lions for the second time tomorrow afternoon.
