Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

The Carleton Ravens have evolved as a team ever since their 2017 undefeated season, and specifically over the last two years, the chemistry of the group of young players that came in during 2018 and 2019 has grown to a point where its visible not only off the court but off the court. When you watch this women’s team play, you can tell they have been around each other, they like each other and they understand how to play off of one another. They are a well-oiled machine on the court and are multi-faceted on both ends of the floor, and their floor general leading all of that is Kali Pocrnic from Oakville Ontario.

Kali is the younger sister of Sam Pocrnic, a Mohawk College basketball player. In February 2020, Sam set the scoring record at Mohawk College, surpassing Stef Hrymaks record of 1114 points. Kali though, started her playing career in JUEL playing for Blessed Sacrament. In 2015, Kali and Blessed Sacrament went 13-6, good enough for 5th in the standings. The improvement and achievements didn’t come until her 2016 year in JUEL where the team finished 15-7, 4th in the standings and Kali earned 1st team all-star and a spot on the All-Defensive team.

After her achievements in JUEL, Kali went over to the OSBA for her final two years, joining a talented Lincoln prep squad along with several future OUA and NCAA Canadian stars. The 2017-18 Lincoln prep roster included names such as Lauren Rainford, Brynn Masikewich, Brooklyn Johnson, Natsuki Szczokin, Jess Reid, Niyah Becker and Kaillie Hall. Those who follow the OSBA will know the achievements of that Lincoln Prep program who repeated as OSBA champions during Kali’s first year, and they brought in a new batch of future OUA players the following year.

The 2018 season didn’t go as well as the previous year, but they were still able to finish fourth with the additions of Kirsten McGrath, Taite Cleland, Makalya Ennis and Jada Grannum among others. Kali finished her time in the OSBA finishing just outside the podium but the experience of being in a league with such big names made an impact on Kali. “It was a really cool experience because both years I lived away from home. I lived with 11 of the girls in a house in my first year”, Kali said the experience playing in the OSBA environment got her ready for the university experience. With the competition and the intensity of training and preparation, Kali’s schedule during her time at the OSBA got her prepared for what she would experience at the next level.

Taking the experience and knowledge she gained from going from JUEL to the OSBA, Kali was ready to take her skills to the OUA, and the Carleton Ravens had a spot for her. Kali joined the team as a rookie in 2019 and was immediate starter for a team undergoing a transition. Though she was put into a big role immediately, Kali found the compete level the most challenging to adjust to, “it was so different from what I was used to, we never stopped. No taking a break, going hard all practice. Everyone was there to win”.

Kali brings a wide range of skills to the Ravens. She’s an elusive guard with speed and athleticism that do everything you’d want a guard to do. Her athleticism allows her to attack off the dribble, her ability to get to spots assists with her facilitating and she has the shooting skills to be a threat to defenses beyond just assisting teammates. Kali has shown throughout her first year that she has an ability to read multiple steps into the defense, know where to be at points and what to do with the ball, and that is a skill she finds incredibly important, “being able to know where everyone is going to be is really important because I need to dish the ball off”, Kali said referring to her ability to read defenses and reactions, “when I get into the paint I’m looking to score, but I’m going to get fouled, going to get blocked, I need to know where the defenders are going to be and where the other posts are going to be for spacing”.

The spacing Kali was able to create playing alongside great talent like Dorcas Buisa, Madison Reid and Alyssa Cerino in her first year, earned the Ravens a 15-7 record, 2nd in the OUA East and they earned themselves a playoff matchup with the York Lions. Kali averaged 6.9 points per game in her first season shooting 34% from the field, to go with 3.2 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Kali played all 22 games for the Ravens and both their playoff games, the first a 67-64 win over York and the last a 57-48 loss to Ottawa.

Kali got an experience that very few each year get, and that is hosting the National Championship tournament in her first year. Carleton was selected as the joint host with Ottawa for the 2020 U SPORTS National Championship for both men’s and women’s basketball, which meant that even though they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the OUA playoffs, they had a berth to the national championship and the largest stage in University basketball in Canada. Kali would be playing not only in front of the fans she had been playing for all season, but against the top competition in Canada, the experience was invaluable, “It was really exciting. Being on the big stage and going to the banquet was a lot of fun. Honestly it was overwhelming but something I’ll never forget”.

Kali’s national experience started with a game against the eventual National Champions, the Saskatchewan Huskies. Kali scored 14 points and was one of three Ravens in double digits but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Huskies and the Ravens fell 73-59, sending them into the consolation bracket for the rest of the tournament. Carleton went 1-1 in their final two games of the tournament. They defeated Alberta in a thriller 72-70 in the Consolation Semi-Final behind 33 points from Madison Reid, 12 from Kali and 11 from Tatyanna Burke. They played Calgary in their consolation final, falling 66-61 and Kali’s national championship week was over.

The Ravens had made a lot of progress during the 2019 season and established a chemistry between the core group of players, and before they could think about building on it the following year, the world got sent into a global pandemic. COVID hit hard one week after the National Championship tournament, and for the next 18 months nobody knew what would happen, if or when we would get university sports back, “it was a rollercoaster of emotions, it was tough hearing you’re going to play then you’re not going to play. The way I stayed motivated was coming in everyday with the team and practicing for 90 minutes with no contact, doing skill work at our own net. The thing that made me look forward to playing was my team and knowing we’re getting through it together”.

Athletes held a belief that basketball would eventually return, and fast forward to the summer of 2021, and a season was put on the table. Now with the preseason and first two weeks of the season complete, that doubt is all excitement and compete, “everyone is really really excited, we were nervous because it’s been 2 years since we’ve played a real basketball game but we were also really sick of playing against each other so we’re excited to have games back and see where we’re at as a team”.

Where the Ravens are at is 2-0 with two wins over the Nipissing Lakers, and that comes in the first year of a new coach. Coach Dani came to Carleton from the University of Victoria and Kali along with her teammates were ready and excited to get a change of system and culture, “We were ready and open to a new coach. Everyone has bought into Dani. She did a great job helping us stay engaged. She’s been great and we all really love her”.

With a new coach but mostly the same group of players, Kali has her eyes set on being a better teammate both in leadership and in play during the 2021 season, “my expectations are mostly to be a really big leader on the court. I want to get more assists, create more for my teammates, get them open looks and make the game simple. Something my team really focuses on is defense so I want to get better as a defender and with rotations in 5on5”.

Kali has her goals set on a larger scale and playing in a tough division this year with the reshaped conference, she will need to really step into the leadership role and take this Ravens play into her own hands to ensure the play on the court never falters and the Ravens continue to be in the conversation like they were throughout 2019. With her speed, shooting, decision making, court vision and passing ability, Kali has all the tools to help elevate the Ravens play this season, and after their first two games, they look like they have the talent and depth to be one of the top teams. It’s only Kali’s second year of eligibility, but the young guard has been put into the spotlight ever since she arrived at Carleton, and I’m sure she’ll continue to embrace it and put on a show for the basketball fans in the nation’s capital.