‘Always tough playing the host’
Huskies expect Carleton’s best game in U Sports Final 8 opener in Ottawa
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies have their eyes on the Bronze Baby this week.
But, for now, they’re focused on the host Carleton University Ravens — the team with probably the most to gain at the U Sports Final 8 national championship tournament in their Ottawa hometown.
“It’s always tough playing the host,” U of S head coach Lisa Thomaidis admitted prior to practice Tuesday in Ottawa, where her No. 1-ranked team will face No. 8 seed Carleton in U Sport Final 8 quarter-final action Thursday night at TD Place Arena.
“We went through a stretch of years there where the No. 1 seed kept getting upset by the No. 8 host at women’s tournaments, so we’re hoping that’s not going to be the case this year.”
Although Carleton comes in through the so-called back door as host, Thomaidis sees the Ravens as a legitimate top 10 team. The Ravens, who posted a 15-7 record in Ontario University Sport and 1-1 record in OUA playoffs, were ranked sixth nationally on defence, allowing only 57.9 points per game.
“Carleton’s a quality team,” said Thomaidis. “They’ve been ranked in the top 10; they’re not just a host. They deserve to be here, so it’s not an easy first-round matchup for us by any stretch. They have some excellent athletes. They play tough. They have weapons at all positions and, for us, we’re going to have to continue to improve our play over the past few weekends and get ready for the environment there. It’s going to be loud and boisterous. It’s going to make for a very fun atmosphere and good to be a part of.”
The Ravens are led by Alyssa Cerino, who averages 16.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Kali Pocrnic has chipped in with an average of 3.0 assists per game.
“They want to play fast but they can also settle and play half-court,” assessed Thomaidis. “They can shoot the ball, attack in transition, a good ‘big’ who can score inside.
They’ve got some youth — two rookies who have been pretty impressive to step in their first year and play such a big role. They have a fifth-year who’s their post and then a third and fourth year on the perimeter.
“Hopefully our experience will pay off. Hopefully we can show that we’ve been here before and we can remain composed and play our game and not get too distracted by the environment.”
Saskatchewan (18-2 in the regular season, 27-2 overall) is led by fourth-year Huskie post player Summer Masikewich, who averaged 17.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season.
“It’s going to be an exciting game, and they’re going to have lots of fans, but it’ll be really good for us to play in that type of environment,” said Masikewich, who earned Canada West conference star of the week honours for her double-double performance in the Canada West final.
“It’ll be a good battle, for sure, because they (Ravens) are a good team. They’ve been in and out of the top 10 all year, so we really can’t take them lightly and we’ll have to play our best game.”
The key to the Huskies’ fortunes will come on defence.
“Our defence was really the anchor of our performance (last Friday) against Alberta,” noted Thomaidis.
“We were able to hold them to 51 points. We have to really rely on our D. That has to be solid and that has to be consistent and then we have to get some offence from our defence. If we can do that and score some easy ones, that will really help. Otherwise we’ll be looking to put it in inside and play through Summer a little bit and see how they defend her at the post.”
Carleton’s a quality team. They’ve been ranked in the top 10; they’re not just a host. They deserve to be here.