Carleton women and U of O men look like hoops contenders
It being October, the university basketball season is still full of promise, so there’s no need for coaches to be zipping through their smartphones or Rolodexes for the name of their psychotherapist.
And if the early results are any indication, the city’s coaches may escape a session on the couch this season as their teams flashed signs they’ll be in the hunt for conference laurels when the contenders separate from the pretenders.
Despite somewhat inconsistent performances from several veterans, the uOttawa men’s Gee-Gees clubbed two foes, Concordia 7464, and Laurier 85-73 to win their second-consecutive Jack Donohue Tournament title, legitimizing their top 10 claim.
Meanwhile, the Carleton women demonstrated they have all the requisite pieces for a national title bid after capturing their second consecutive McKeen Metro Glebe Tournament title. The distaff uOttawa Gee- Gees, though, may be in for adventures in execution as star wing Sarah Besselink is likely lost for the season with a knee injury.
The men’s Gee- Gees withstood a furious challenge from the scrappy Concordia Stingers, rallying from a lacklustre first half to pull out a win on the hustle of post Brody Maracle, the ball control of Sean Stoqua, 21 points from Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles and a big lift off the bench from Mackenzie Morrison, including a critical trey against an expiring shot clock.
“Our offence wasn’t really clicking well in the first half,” Maracle said. “And it was pretty inspirational seeing guys like MacKenzie diving for loose balls.”
Stingers coach Rastko Popovic said uOttawa’s “experience” proved the difference. “They kind of packed the paint but I thought we played well. A couple of bounces didn’t go our way.”
The Gee-Gees handled Laurier on Sunday at Montpetit Hall on the post play of Maracle, who scored 18, and the aggressive baseline drives of Brandon Robinson, who scored 22.
“After my worst game ever, I knew I had step up,” Robinson said.
Gee- Gees coach James Derouin gave his troops a weekend grade of C+, noting that not only was the level of play inconsistent between games, but “within games. There’s time when we shine and show our potential and it looks like a national championship contender and there’s times when we’re barely hanging on . ... If there’s an award for the most unhappy 6-0 coach in the country, I’m getting it.”
Laurier coach Justin Serresse was elated with the fearless attacks off the dribble by his guards, particularly rookie Ottawa-product Ali Sow, who scored 26.
The Carleton women relied on the experience of such veterans as Catherine Traer, Elizabeth Leblanc, Heather Lindsay and Jenjen Abella in holding off the pesky Bishop’s Gaiters 74-65, pounding the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves 74-61 and clipping uOttawa 56-44.
Although the Ravens occasionally seemed unfocused and at times were uncharacteristically lax on defence, their veterans invariably stepped in with the answers. Lindsay delivered a double-double, with 17 points and 14 boards, against Bishop’s.
After a summer stint with the national women’s development team, Traer dominated the floor in a scant 16 minutes of action during Carleton’s blowout of the
If there’s an award for the most unhappy 6-0 coach in the country, I’m getting it.
Timberwolves, playing at a level that would make her a contender for national player of the year. Streaky Nicole Gilmore scored 19 in the Raven win.
Traer called the summer an enormous learning experience, particularly with respect to “the level, the speed, the intensity, the power, that you have to play with. ... And today, we were able to somewhat execute our game plan.”
Ravens coach Taffe Charles said the tournament gave him a chance to assess what contributions newcomers could make. “We’re still trying to figure out our rotations.”
The distaff Gee-Gees struggled in the absence of Besselink, failing to get into any kind of offensive rhythm during an ugly 56-47 win over UNBC and losing 66-59 to Bishop’s. But freshman Brigitte Lefebvre- Okwankwu demonstrated she’ll be in the hunt for national rookie of the year honours and 6-6 Lafayette-transfer Angela Ribarich had moments which suggested she could develop into a force in the paint.
It’s a work-in-progress, said Gee- Gees coach Andy Sparks. “We couldn’t consistently take advantage of our advantages.”