The Carleton Ravens women's basketball team represent

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

in the

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, ...

U Sports women's basketball U Sports women's basketball is the highest level of play of women's basketball at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. There are 48 teams, all of which are based in Canada, that are d ...

. The

Ravens Ravens may refer to: * Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' of passerine birds Sports * Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana * Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise * B ...

have won three

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

, in 2018, 2023 and 2024. The Ravens have also won the OUA Critelli Cup conference championship three times, in 2017, 2018, and 2023. Between 2009 and 2018, the Ruth Coe Award, recognizing Carleton University’s Female Athlete of the Year, was won by seven female basketball players. Additionally, the program served as host team for the

2020 U Sports Women's Basketball Championship The 2020 U Sports Women's Basketball Championship was held March 5–8, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario, to determine a national champion for the 2019–20 U Sports women's basketball season. The Saskatchewan Huskies defeated the Brock Badgers to win ...

, contested at Ottawa's

TD Place Arena TD Place Arena, originally the Ottawa Civic Centre, is an indoor arena located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Opened in December 1967, it is used primarily for sports, including curling, figure skating, ice hockey, and lacrosse. The arena has hos ...

. In 2023, both the women’s and men’s teams won the national titles, something no school had accomplished since 1985, when the

Victoria Vikes The Victoria Vikes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Victoria of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in both men's and women's U Sports. ''Vikes'' was previously a longstanding nickname for both the men's teams (previously th ...

were double champions.

History

From 2007 to 2019, the Ravens were coached by Taffe Charles. An assistant coach with the women’s program in 1995, he would join Dave Smart’s coaching staff with the Ravens men’s team in 1998, enjoying five U SPORTS national championships, before returning to the women’s program in 2007. Under Charles’ leadership, the women’s team captured the 2010 OUA East Division title, qualifying for the OUA East postseason finals. It would mark the first of five division titles. The Ravens would top the East Division in 2013, 2014 and 2018, while the 2016-17 season saw a first place finish in the OUA North Division. Clinching its first appearance in the U Sports Final 8 in 2011, the program would return to the biggest stage in Canadian university basketball in 2013, 2017 and 2018. The 2012-13 season saw the Ravens among the top five in the national basketball rankings, defeating the Ottawa Gee-Gees to win the East Division Final. Finishing the 2016-17 season with an 18-1 mark, its highest win total in the 45-year history of the program (since broken), the Ravens would enjoy the milestone of a number-1 ranking in the national polls, reaching the summit on November 15, 2016. Reaching the U Sports Final 8, the Ravens defeated the Victoria Vikes in the quarterfinals, enjoying their first-ever win at the tournament. Winning the OUA conference title in 2017 and 2018, the Ravens enjoyed a perfect 29-0 record, for their first-ever undefeated season, capturing the

Bronze Baby The U Sports Women's Basketball Championship, branded as the Women's Basketball Final 8, is a Canadian university basketball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from ...

for the first time in 2018. Defensively, the Ravens stymied their competition during the championship season, averaging merely 45.9 points per game, resulting in the finest defense in U Sports. Elizabeth Leblanc was a key player during the 2017-18 season, culminating in a perfect 29-0 season, highlighted by the program's first national championship. Statistically, Leblanc averaged 26.7 minutes per game, signifying her third straight season of leading the team. With 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 blocks per game, Leblanc also won the U Sports Defensive Player of the Year Award, the first player in Ravens history to do so. The season also saw Heather Lindsay garner some hardware, capturing the Carleton Ravens Athletics Outstanding Graduating Female Athlete award. In what proved to be her last campaign as a Raven, Lindsay reached the plateau of 100 regular season appearances, complemented by 82 starts. With career averages of 11.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, she graduated by surpassing the 1000-point career mark. During the 2018-19 season, Nicole Gilmore reached career-highs in many categories. Starting with 14.3 points-per-game, 7.7 rebounds per game, plus shooting 40.5 per cent from the field, she received the Carleton Ravens Outstanding Graduating Female Athlete Award.

Season-by-season record

Capital Hoops Classic

Individual leader scoring

International

* Catherine Traer : 2017 Summer Universiade *Nicole Gilmore 2019 Summer Universiade

Awards and honours

*2016-17 U Sports Rebounding Champion: Heather Lindsay (10.8 rebounds per game)

All-Canadians

*2018-19 Second Team All-Canadian: Nicole Gilmore

OUA Awards

*2009-10 OUA East Coach of the Year: Taffe Charles *2013-14 OUA All-Rookie Team: Heather Lindsay *2017-18 OUA Coach of the Year and the :Taffe Charles *2018-19 OUA Defensive Player of the Year: Nicole Gilmore

OUA All-Stars

First team *2018-19 OUA First-Team All-Star: Nicole Gilmore *2016-17 OUA First-Team: Heather Lindsay *2016-17 OUA First-Team: Catherine Traer Second team *2017-18: OUA Second Team All-Star - Heather Lindsay *2016-17 Second Team: Elizabeth Leblanc *2015-16: OUA Second Team All-Star - Heather Lindsay

OUA Showcase

*2019 Showcase Participant: Alyssa Cerino, Carleton (named to Team Burns) *2019 Showcase Participant: Nicole Gilmore, Carleton (named to Team Belanger) *2018 OUA Showcase Participant: Alexandra Trivieri (named to Team Charles)

U Sports Awards

*2016-17: U SPORTS Second-Team All-Canadian - Heather Lindsay *2017-18: Elizabeth Leblanc U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year award *2017-18 Peter Ennis Award as U SPORTS national coach of the year: Taffe Charles

U Sports nationals

* 2018 U SPORTS Final 8 Championship MVP: Elizabeth Leblanc * 2018 U SPORTS Final 8 Championship All-Tournament Team: Elizabeth Leblanc

U Sports All-Canadians

*2019 Second Team All-Canadian: Nicole Gilmore

University honours

*2016-17 Pat O’Brien Award – Carleton Ravens Athletics Coach of the Year: Taffe Charles *2017-18 Pat O’Brien Award – Carleton Ravens Athletics Coach of the Year: Taffe Charles ''Ruth Coe Award'' *2010-11: Alyson Bush *2016-17: Heather Lindsay - Ruth Coe Award winner as Carleton Ravens Athletics Female Athlete of the Year *2017-18: Elizabeth Leblanc - Ruth Coe Award winner as Carleton Ravens Athletics Female Athlete of the Year ''Outstanding Graduating Women’s Athlete of the Year'' *2011-12: Ashleigh Cleary - Carleton Ravens athletics Outstanding Graduating Women’s Athlete of the Year *2017-18: Heather Lindsay - Carleton Ravens athletics Outstanding Graduating Women’s Athlete of the Year *2018-19: Nicole Gilmore - Carleton Ravens athletics Outstanding Graduating Women’s Athlete of the Year

Team awards

''This is an incomplete list''

Most Valuable Player

*1996-97: Karin Brown *1997-98: Rosie Warden *1998-99: Rosie Warden *1999-00: Tamara McNulty *2000-01: Rosie Warden *2001-02: Anne McDonnell *2002-03: Dasa Farthing *2003-04: Ashley Kimmett *2004-05: Sarah Kennedy *2005-06: Dasa Farthing *2006-07: Susan Shaw-Davis *2007-08: Tanya Perry *2008-09: Ines Jelic *2010-11: Ashleigh Clearly *2011-12: Kendall MacLeod *2012-13: Alyson Bush *2013-14: Alyson Bush *2014-15: Lindsay Shotbolt *2015-16: Heather Lindsay *2016-17: Heather Lindsay *2019-20: Alyssa Cerino

Alumni Award

*2014-15: Abeer Farhat *2015-16: Abeer Farhat

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carleton Ravens women's basketball Basketball in Ottawa Carleton Ravens basketball U Sports women's basketball teams Basketball teams in Ontario Women's sports in Ottawa Women's sports clubs and teams in Ontario