Basketball

Is the first Gee-Gees sweep since 2020 possible?

The Panda Game has come and gone but lucky for you, another rivalry game against the Carleton Ravens is near. In the next rivalry matchup, the Gee-Gees women’s hockey team took down the Ravens to capture the Alert Cup. And third on the schedule is a Friday night double-header, where both basketball teams will face off at TD Place Arena Feb. 2.

The Capital Hoops Classic

The Capital Hoops classic began in 2007, when the men’s teams from both schools played at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre). The women’s teams were added just a year later, and in 2015 an attendance record for U SPORTS regular season basketball was set, at 10,780.

Carleton, a longtime dynasty in the OUA and U SPORTS, leads the all-time series 13-3 in the men’s side. On the women’s side, the lead is a bit smaller, but the Ravens still hold a 10-5 record all time. Heading into this year’s match-up both Ravens teams are on a two-game winning streak in the annual game.

The Women’s Game

The Gee-Gees women’s team enters Friday’s game in an interesting position. Outside of tight losses to Waterloo and Queen’s since returning from Christmas break, the squad hasn’t lost a game since their first of the season. They rode a nine-game win streak into the break, which included a win over the Ravens.

But Carleton is enjoying a dominant season of their own. The 74-56 loss to the Gee-Gees was their only one this season — a season that has placed them squarely among the country’s top contenders, once again.

For the Gees, strong guard play has been the main reason for their strong season. Along with the two-headed monster of fourth-year Natsuki Szczokin and fifth-year Western transfer Ariane Saumure, as of late that has included first-year Gee Allie McCarthy.

McCarthy has put up many high-scoring efforts this year, including a streak of three games beginning that Dec. 6 matchup with Carleton. During that streak, she scored 17 points three games in a row, and shot 11-of-17 from deep.

But the University of North Dakota transfer has a bit of a tendency to run hot-and-cold, and her shooting hasn’t been there of late. Since that hot streak, she’s put up double digits just twice in five games, and has shot 3-of-19 from three. Granted, that stretch included blowout wins against Algoma and Waterloo, where McCarthy and the rest of the starters saw limited minutes.

McCarthy will be an X factor for the Gees, who live and die by their guard play. Saumure has been consistent as of late, putting up double-digits in her last six games, and shooting 13-of-40 from deep over that time period. Likewise, Szczokin has been good from deep, and has shot 13-of-34 over that same stretch.

Overall, the Gee-Gees will be an underdog in Friday’s game. But after winning their first meeting, they have shown they have the ability to take down the Ravens team. As head coach Rose-Anne Joly told her team at half-time of that first meeting, “this is us.

This is not because of the rivalry, this is not because we were excited to play them, this is not because we were afraid of playing against a number one team. This is who we are, and we’ve been waiting to show it.”

The team will get a chance to prove that win wasn’t just a one-off at TD Place.

The Men’s Game

The second game’s tale of the tape reads significantly different than the first. The Gee-Gees enter the game first in the country, and their small-ball team has looked dominant — albeit beatable at times — including in their first meeting with the Ravens, where they came back from a 20-point deficit.

The team’s only losses of the year — including the pre-season — was a loss during a holiday tournament to St. Fx, and the first game out of the break, a one-point loss against Queen’s.

In both games, defence was the issue. The squad gave up 104 points to U SPORTS #8 St. Fx, and 96 to #3 Queen’s. Against a Carleton team that scores 80 points per game and outrebounded the Gees 62-30 in their first meeting, defence and rebounding will be the storyline once again in this game.

The emergence of Khalifa Koulamallah has been a key reason for the Gee’s continued success, but like McCarthy, the wing hasn’t been as hot lately. In an eerily similar manner to McCarthy, the wing put up 17 points three games in a row, beginning with the game against Carleton on Dec. 6.

But in the eight games following, the Carleton transfer has put up double-digits just twice. Again, like McCarthy, the first-year Gee’s three-point shooting runs hot-and-cold. In those three games, the 6’7” Gatineau native went 6-of-13 from deep. But in the eight games since, he has shot 8-of-38.

Koulamallah boasts a complete game though, and even if his looks aren’t dropping at asof high as a rate as before, he has active hands on the defensive end. The long-limbed wing is third on the team with 1.8 steals per game, which includes a season-high six in Jan. 19’s game against Algoma.

Other factors for the Gees, will of course be stars Brock Newton, Dragan Stajic, Kevin Otoo, Justin Ndjock Tadjore, and Jacques Mélaine-Guemeta. Newton racked up 23 points in the team’s last game against Laurier and was joined by Mélaine-Guemeta as the only Gees in double digits.

Mélaine-Guemeta was hot from three, draining five out of the team’s eight total threes — on just eight attempts. Using a tight rotation during the absence of Newton’s older brother Cole, just seven Gees saw more than a couple of minutes of floor time during that game against the Golden Hawks. Joining Koulamallah off the bench was Cid Ruhamyandekwe.

The Gees won’t be taking their opposition lightly on Friday night. Expect this to be another tightly contested game. Look for Otoo, the OUA’s steals leader and fifth-year Gee, to be the driving force on both ends of the court for the Gee-Gees in what will be the guard’s final Capital Hoops game.