HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Carleton women, uOttawa men post convincing Capital Hoops Classic victories

By Martin Cleary

The two crosstown rivalry basketball games were surprisingly one-sided, but at least each university left TD Place with one victory for their efforts Friday night.

For the fifth time in as many years, the Carleton University Ravens emerged as winners in the opening women’s match at the Capital Hoops Classic, which attracted 6,100 fans for their second OUA meeting of the regular season.

After narrowly winning their first match 64-63 in November, the Ravens dominated the second half of the neutral-site game with an impressive 87-60 victory over the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Carleton, however, was unable to make it a two-game sweep at Lansdowne Park. The East Division-leading Ravens men’s team was missing three key players, which helped the Gee-Gees storm to their third consecutive Capital Hoops Classic victory by a decisive 73-52 margin.

All four teams finished the second-to-last weekend of play in the OUA regular season with some interesting results against the Brock University Badgers women’s (12-8, Central Division, second place) and men’s (15-5, Centre, tied for first) teams.

The Ravens women’s team turned back the Badgers 80-50 on Sunday to enter the final weekend of the regular season in second place at 15-5 in the East. But the Gee-Gees, who are third in the East at 10-10, were outscored Saturday by the Badgers 72-64.

On the men’s side, the Gee-Gees were dominant in the first three quarters Saturday and improved to 14-6 with a 90-62 win over Brock. On Sunday, Brock rebounded and needed double overtime to hold off Carleton 84-79. Carleton leads the East at 16-4.

Kyana-Jade Poulin was the mastermind behind Carleton’s strong win over Ottawa at the Capital Hoops Classic. She struck for a rarely-seen triple-double with 28 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, while connecting on five of her seven shots from beyond the three-point arc and 10 of 17 field-goal attempts overall.

Her 28-point total set a Capital Hoops Classic record and her 11 assists tied the game’s best-ever mark, which was set by Ottawa’s Brooklynn McAlear-Fanus in 2017.

Poulin had plenty of support on the court as the Ravens turned their 39-38 halftime lead into a runaway, starting the third quarter with point runs of 6-0 and 12-1. The Ravens outscored the Gee-Gees 29-10 in the third quarter and 19-12 in the fourth quarter.

Jacqueline Urban struck for 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals and blocks for the Ravens. Abany Deng hit all four of her shots and finished with nine points, seven rebounds, four assists as well as two steals and two blocked shots. Arek Akeg added 12 points.

Deng, Poulin, who was named Carleton’s female athlete of the week, and Akeg accounted for all the Carleton points in the 12-1 run to start the third quarter.

Allie McCarthy continued to be the Gee-Gees’ leader with 25 points along with two rebounds and two steals. Bailey Russell struggled with her shooting, hitting only four of 20 field-goal attempts, but managed 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Victoria Brideau chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.

McCarthy scored 14 points and registered seven rebounds and four steals in the eight-point loss to Brock, while Russell started the game on the bench, but played 38 minutes to record 12 points and nine rebounds.

Tyanne Matosas-Adderley stepped up for her best game of the season with the Ravens women’s team, hitting seven of 10 field-goal attempts, scoring 19 points and adding two rebounds and one assist. Urban notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Poulin scored 17 points and added four rebounds.

In the men’s Capital Hoops Classic, Nelson Cilien’s three-point basket at the 70-second mark of the first quarter gave Carleton a 3-2 advantage, but it would be its only lead as Ottawa held the upper hand in every quarter – 18-13, 17-15, 17-12 and 21-12.

The Gee-Gees spread out their offence as Owen Kenney led with 13 points and six rebounds, Alec Phaneuf and Brock Newton added 11 points apiece and Justin Tounkara notched nine points. Newton pulled down six rebounds, while Tounkara also had six rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Carleton, which played without starters Aubrey Dorey-Havens and Emanuel Milon and reserve Louth-Mohamed Coulibaly, who left the game in the first half, had a team-high 13 points from Cedric Mbiaba, who was playing in his first Capital Hoops Classic. He added nine rebounds and three steals.

Marjok Okado contributed 12 points for Carleton as well as a pair of steals and rebounds.

As a team, Carleton only shot 25.4 per cent from the field, converting 17 of 67 shots. That included making six three-pointers from 29 attempts.

On Sunday, it looked like the Ravens would get back in the win column against Brock, but the Badgers hit a field goal with seven seconds left to tie the game at 66-66 and force overtime. Brock extended the overtime to a second period, when it connected on a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to deadlock the game 73-73.

In the second overtime period, Isaiah Bujdoso scored seven of the Badgers’ 11 points to secure Brock’s victory.

Okado paced the Ravens with 20 points and four steals. Emanuel Ngo Kana Suzama came off the bench early, played 42 minutes, had a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds and added five steals and two rebounds. Dorey-Havens tossed in 15 points and recorded five assists and three rebounds.

Ottawa won its second game in as many nights with a decisive 28-point win over the Badgers.

Kenney sparked the Gee-Gees with 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while Tesloch Luk supported with 22 points, four rebounds and two steals. Tounkara had a strong presence with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Gee-Gees and the Ravens finish their OUA regular season Friday and Saturday on the road with games against the Nipissing University Lakers and the Laurentian University Voyageurs.

OTTAWA CURLERS DRIVING FORCE AS GUELPH GRYPHONS WIN OUA WOMEN’S TITLE

Four Ottawa and area curlers, including freshman skip Katrina Frlan, powered the University of Guelph to its first OUA women’s curling championship in 46 years Sunday at the Welland Curling Club.

Frlan, third Erika Wainwright, second Aila Thompson, alternate Liana Flanagan and lead Kelsea Marcolini of Acton, ON, defeated defending champion McMaster University Marauders 6-4 in the final for the Gryphons’ first women’s curling title since 1980 and 1978.

After winning three of its four round-robin games to win its pool, Frlan sparked the Gryphons to the final with an 8-5 decision over the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold in the quarterfinals and the Queen’s University Gaels 8-6 in the semifinals.

Frlan, a first-year psychology student-athlete, was selected the OUA women’s MVP and rookie of the year, while Thompson was named to the first all-star team. The University of Guelph athletic department also named Frlan its female athlete of the week.

The celebration, however, was short as Frlan joined her Huntley Curling Club teammates Wainwright, Samantha Wall and Lauren Norman to fly to Switzerland for this week’s Swiss Cup. The Frlan team earned a berth in the international competition by winning the World Financial Group Canadian Junior Cup at the end of December in Oshawa.

The Carleton University Ravens men’s team skipped by Owen Nicholls came within one win of defending its OUA title, but lost 8-5 to the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks 8-5 in the final.

Nicholls, third Jordan McNamara, second Jack Ragan, lead Jacob Clarke and alternate Philip Burges reached the gold-medal game by winning its semifinal 5-3 over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and its quarterfinal 7-3 over the Laurentian University Voyageurs. The Ravens were 4-0 in pool play.

The OUA’s first all-star team included Nicholls as skip.

The Gryphons women’s and Ravens men’s squads will advance to the U Sports Canadian curling championships Feb. 17-21 in Regina.

TEAM WILSON SCORES FIRST WIN AT CANADIAN WOMEN’S U18 CURLING

Rideau Curling Club’s Charlotte Wilson is 1-1 at the Canadian women’s U18 curling championships in Timmins.

After losing its first game 8-7 in an extra end to Evangeline Buchalter, the No. 1 Manitoba team, Wilson scored three in the sixth and eight ends for a 6-2 victory over Megan Blandford, the Newfoundland and Labrador champion.

The other members of Wilson’s rink are third Amelia Benning, second Abigail Rushton and lead Sydney Anderson. Team Wilson is the Ontario champion.

GEE-GEES MEN’S, WOMEN’S HOCKEY TEAMS WIN TWO GAMES EACH

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees defeated the Royal Military College Paladins 5-2 and the Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks 4-3 in men’s OUA hockey. The Gee-Gees are in third place in the East Division with a record of 16-8-2-0 for 34 points.

Anson McMaster, Lucas Veilleux, Jacob Le Guerrier, Zach Giroux and Andrew Belchamber shared the Gee-Gees’ goals against the Paladins. Belchamber had a two-goal game against the Ridgebacks, while Chris Barlas and Veilleux had one apiece.

Concordia University Stingers scored with one minute and 56 seconds left in the game to edge the Carleton University Ravens 4-3 in men’s hockey. Robbie Rutledge, Felix Bedard and Tomasz Szczerba scored for the Ravens.

The Gee-Gees women’s hockey team also won a pair of OUA games, outscoring Ontario Tech 6-2 and blanking Toronto Metropolitan University Bold 3-0.

Alex Pongo counted two goals and added one assist, while Gillian Warren had one goal and three assists in the Gee-Gees’ win over the Ridgebacks. Single goals went to Alex Ferguson, Rebecca Morissette and Naomi Morin. Beatrice Bilodeau had three assists.

Clara Genier stopped all 13 shots for the shutout over the Bold, while Warren scored two goals and Madison Desmarais had the other marker.

Carleton dropped both of its women’s hockey games, losing 2-0 to the Bold, despite 28 shots on goal, and 2-1 in overtime to the Ridgebacks. Avery Krawchuk gave the Ravens a 1-0 lead midway through the third period.

uOTTAWA SPLITS OUA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL MATCHES WITH NIPISSING

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees split a pair of OUA women’s volleyball matches with the Nipissing University Lakers.

After losing a five-setter to the Lakers 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 16-25, 15-7, the Gee-Gees rebounded for a 25-14, 17-25, 25-17, 25-23 victory.

The Gee-Gees are tied with the University of Waterloo Warriors for eighth place in the standings at 9-9, but have a better point total, 29-25.

LOCAL NORDIC SKIERS DOMINATE EASTERN CANADIAN OPEN WOMEN’S RACES

Frigid temperatures caused two-hour start time delays on the final two days of the three-day Eastern Canadian cross-country skiing championships at the Nakkertok Nordic Centre, but Ottawa skiers were up to the challenge.

The three open women’s races were won by local skiers from three different clubs – Nakkertok’s Evelyn Davies in the freestyle sprint, Kanata Nordic’s Helen McCulligh in the women’s 10-kilometre freestyle and XC Ottawa’s Hannah Shields in the 10-kilometre classic mass start.

Gliding on super fast skis, Davies pulled away on the final uphill to win the sprint by half a second over Shields. Third place went to McCulligh.

McCulligh felt strong through her entire 10-kilometre freestyle race and moved to the top of the standings, producing a 48-second win over runner-up Davies. Nakkertok’s Laila Lebel was fourth.

In the 10-kilometre classic mass start, Shields won by more than 12 seconds and was followed by McCulligh, Lebel and Davies.

Nakkertok’s Pierre Grall-Johnson was the top open men’s local skier, finishing second by one-tenth of a second to winner Sasha Masson in the sprint, fourth in the 10-kilometre classic mass start and sixth in the 10-kilomtre freestyle race.

The championships offered $12,000 in prize money from the Hall Mark of Excellence program. Money was shared by the top six men and women. McCulligh earned $2,000.

NEPEAN-MINTO PAIRS TEAM WINS NATIONAL PRE-NOVICE TITLE

Nepean Skating Club’s Leah Northway and Minto Skating Club’s Aidan Armstrong won the pre-novice pairs title during the Skate Canada Trophy competition at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth, N.S.

After placing third in the short program, Northway and Armstrong produced the best marks in the freeskate program to win the gold medal with a personal-best point total of 102.68.

“It has definitely been a rollercoaster of emotion,” an injured Northway said via Skate Canada. “But knowing we could trust ourselves, just do the best we could and come out with a personal-best is amazing.”

In the men’s pre-novice singles, Jason Kraan of the Gloucester Skating Club used a fourth-place finish in the freeskate program to jump to fourth overall, after being eighth in the short program. Minto’s Christopher Nordstrom was fifth in the freeskate and ninth overall.

MACKENZIE GRANT WINS BRONZE AT ELITE CANADA GYMNASTICS

Ottawa athletes earned one all-around podium finish and several more top-10s at the Elite Canada artistic gymnastics meet in Calgary.

Edge Gymnastics’ Mackenzie Grant won the overall bronze medal in the junior women’s event, finishing first on vault and third for floor. She was also the best 14-year-old in the age 14-15 category.

Samantha Couture of Tumblers Gymnastics Centre earned a top-10 finish in her senior-level debut, placing ninth all-around. She was the top 16-year-old in the field.

Ottawa Olympian Sam Zakutney of Laval Excellence was sidelined, while Rideau Gymnastics’ Oliver Fong only competed in one novice men’s event, placing 10th on pommel horse.

END NOTES

· Pitcher Phillippe Aumont of Gatineau has come out of retirement and has made the Canadian roster for next month’s World Baseball Classic. Aumont, who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners 11th overall in the first round in the 2007 amateur draft and appeared in four Major League Baseball seasons (2012-15) with the Philadelphia Phillies, will play in his fourth Classic. After two exhibitions games at the Toronto Blue Jays Players’ Development Complex in Dunedin, Florida, Canada will play Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico and Cuba from March 7-11 with the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals in Houston.

· Commonwealth Sport Canada has named Ottawa and St. John’s, NL, as the newest sites for its Sports for Newcomers program. The YMCA of the National Capital Region will provide “equitable access to sports for those who might otherwise face barriers.”

· The Think Ottawa Gala will honour individuals in three different sports on Thursday at the Rogers Centre for their leadership in presenting major sports competition in the nation’s capital – Phyllis Bergmans and Kristian Ewen, co-chairs of the 2025 Canadian Ringette Championships; Leo Doyle, organizer, 2025 Ontario Basketball Association’s Ontario Cup; and Richard Johnston, meet director, 2025 Canadian Track and Field Championships.

Related