RECAP: Gee-Gees dethrone Carleton at Ravens’ Nest to win first Critelli Cup since 2012

The Ottawa Gee-Gees were crowned 2025 OUA Critelli Cup champions following a 70-61 win in the Ravens' Nest on Saturday. Toppling Ravens, who were previously undefeated in regular season and playoff action.

Critelli Cup MVP Natsuki Szczokin opened with 9 points in the first quarter before finishing with a game-high 22 points. 

The first quarter opened with the Carleton Ravens jumping out to a 7-4 lead before the Gee-Gees heated up on an 11-0 run. After Jacqueline Urban stopped the run, Alissa Provo dropped a big three as the Gee-Gees led 21-14 after the first quarter. 

Szczokin took over in the second quarter, scoring 12 points in the quarter while dropping three triples to fend off the Ravens as they battled back to make it a four-point game at the half. Kyana-Jade Poulin led the Ravens comeback with 7 points in the second quarter as Carleton cut the lead to 35-33. The two teams went back-and-forth to finish the quarter with Ottawa leading 41-37.

Allie McCarthy's three early in the third shunted Carleton's attempt at a comeback as the Gee-Gees pulled ahead by 12. Bailey Russell had 5 points in the third quarter as the Gee-Gees pulled ahead by 15. 

Both teams elevated their play defensively in the fourth quarter as Carleton rallied. Kyana-Jade Poulin nailed a three before Dorcas Buisa hit a triple of her own to cut the lead to 3. Allie McCarthy pulled down a rebound in the final minutes before stealing the ball with 10 seconds to play to seal the championship for the Gee-Gees in enemy territory.

What They're Saying: 

"I'm so proud, it was a team effort, they bought into the game plan, and it's made a huge difference. We wanted to run the floor and keep them under 60 points, and we did that today. It's all a dream… kudos to the team. It's giving us the confidence we need to going into nationals, it's going to be tough, so this is the confidence we needed." – Gee-Gees head coach Rose-Anne Joly

"It's so special. Honestly, it feels surreal, when the clock was running down and the bench was all standing, coaches standing, everyone screaming, the crowd behind our bench was all cheering for us. I'm so glad I was able to do this in my last year, and to do it in front of this big crowd was honestly an amazing experience." – Natsuki Szczokin. 

What's Next:

The Gee-Gees are entering the 2025 U SPORTS Final 8 in Vancouver as the second seed in the tournament. Ottawa will take on wild card entrant Laval in the quarterfinals. The game is set to take place from the Thunderbird Centre at UBC at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. The game will be broadcast live in English on CBC Gem and CBC Sports YouTube and in French on Radio-Canada ICI Tou.TV.