Banner Season: Pocrnic shines to help Ravens soar to back-to-back Critelli Cup wins

Ottawa, Ont. – The Carleton Ravens are the 2023-24 Critelli Cup champions.

For a second straight season, the Ravens bested the Queen’s Gaels in the provincial finale, this time doing the honours on their home court at the Raven’s Nest.

The sold out crowd was loud and proud from the game’s opening basket – a three-pointer from Kali Pocrnic – and both the noise and the clutch shooting were signs of things to come.

The first team all-star and her fellow Ravens gave the fans plenty to cheer about in the opening half, as they built an 18-point cushion heading into the break. Pocrnic’s nine points and Teresa Donato’s 11 led the way for the Ravens through the opening 20 minutes.

Queen’s was looking to flip the script in the second half, using some stingy defence to help earn some of the momentum back through three quarters. The Gaels held the high-flying Ravens to just eight points in the frame and cut the deficit to just 10 heading into the fourth.

The comeback continued as the minutes ticked away, with an Emma Weltz three ball getting the visitors to within just two points. But for every Queen’s push came a Carleton response. Whether it was a crafty play from Dorcas Buisa in the lane en route to her 12-point, eight-rebound outing; one of Pocrnic’s six triples on the night; or an active play on the defensive end, Carleton would not break.

In the end, the Ravens held their lead until the final buzzer, coming away with the hard-fought 63-55 victory behind a game high 20 points from their standout guard, who, with MVP chants raining down, was ultimately named the Milk2Go Sport player of the game as a result.

Queen’s, meanwhile, was led by another double-double from their first team all-star, Julia Chadwick and a team-high 18 points from Laura Donovan.

Both teams will now head to Alberta to take on six of the other top teams from around the country at the U SPORTS Women’s Basketball Championship.