Forging a promising lead in the opening half, the Marauders looked poised to challenge the Carleton Ravens 46-game OUA winning streak and hold on the Critelli Cup title.

But the Ravens sped to a 25-point output in the final 10 minutes of the contest to defend their OUA championship 75-66, winning the second conference title in their program's history.

Saturday's result marked the second consecutive season in which Carleton has defeated McMaster in the OUA playoffs.

Both teams will now travel to Regina to compete in the U SPORTS Championship tournament between Thursday, March 8 and Sunday, March 11.

OUA Third Team All-Star Catherine Traer was named as the Most Valuable Player of the Critelli Cup after a 17-point performance that saw her shoot five of 12 from the field and three of seven from beyond the arc.

She hit four of six attempts from the foul line, and contributed a team high three steals to the Ravens win.

Named an OUA First Team All-Star for the first time in February, Marauder guard Hilary Hanaka (Hamilton, ON) brought her best in a losing effort, scoring a game high 22 points on nine of 16 from the field and four of eight from three-point range. She also had a game high with five assists.

Carleton was lethal from long distance, hitting nine threes as a group on 24 attempts (37.5 per cent) while out-doing McMaster all afternoon on the glass with 54 total rebounds and 16 offensive.

Second Team All-Star Heather Lindsay led the way in that category, despite foul trouble that kept her out of the lineup for much of the second quarter, achieving the double double with 15 points and 13 boards.

GAME FLOW

After Carleton worked their way to a four-point lead through the opening 10 minutes, McMaster was able to exploit the absence of Lindsay to pull into the driver's seat in the second quarter.

Holding their opponents to just eight points in the quarter, the Marauders took a 26-24 lead with 3:41 to play in the half when Hanaka knocked down a layup.

With their veteran guard bringing in seven points, and rookie Sarah Gates (Newmarket, ON) hitting three of four shots in the quarter, McMaster built a 36-28 lead at the halftime break.

The third was a quarter of massive momentum swings, as the Ravens answered a Jelena Mamic (St Catharines, ON) three on the opening possession with a 12-0 run to retake the lead at 40-39 after a triple from Stephanie Carr.

Not to be outdone, McMaster compiled a 7-0 run of their own and sent Carleton scrambling to a timeout after a Linnaea Harper (Newmarket, ON) three-pointer for 46-40.

The Ravens promptly tied things once again, before a late triple from Hanaka earned the Marauders a slender one-point lead through three quarters.

When they needed her most, Lindsay arrived on the scene in the fourth to take over the game and will the Ravens to a second consecutive OUA title. The forward had 11 of her 15 points in the final frame, hitting three of five shots from the field and five of six free throws along the way.