Another basketball dynasty is budding at Carleton — this time, it's the women's team

For years, Carleton University in Ottawa has been synonymous with basketball.

Led by head coach Dave Smart, the men's program racked up 17 titles in a 20-year span — more than any Canadian or U.S. college or university team has ever won.

And so when Dani Sinclair left her alma mater Victoria to become the Ravens' women's head coach in 2020, she was ready to embrace the pressure.

"There's a tiny bit of paranoia — like a healthy paranoia — that I think exists in any successful program. Because if you take your foot off the gas, like you look at Dave, there's no way he's winning that number of games and championships if you relax. You've always got to have some level of healthy anxiety," Sinclair said.

Under Sinclair's watch, the Carleton women have won two straight national titles, and they're enjoying a 22-0 start to the current season. This year's Canada-wide championships run from March 13-16 at UBC, with live streaming available on CBC Sports.

While there's still a long way to go for the women's program to catch the men's, it appears a new dynasty is budding at the Ravens' Nest.

"I knew that I could fail and I kind of approach that daily like this could all blow up in my face at any point. But I was kind of excited at that prospect and OK with the pressure that came with it," Sinclair said.

"When you have the level of resources that we have here and the people, you kind of realize you can drop your ego a little bit. That's a huge part of the Carleton culture is it's not really about me. It's not really about any given person. We all just are trying to do something together."

Jacqueline Urban, the third-year forward from Hamilton, Ont., has never not won the national championship during her U Sports career.

In fact, Urban, 21, only has endured just four total losses as a Raven.

She said Smart's legacy continues to linger over the entire Carleton basketball program even as he now coaches the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, Calif.

"His name is like almost like worshipped when you come to Carleton," Urban said.

During practices, Sinclair will often point to the banners that hang in the gym.

"She'll throw out his name and she'll be like, 'Do you think like Dave Smart just did this for whatever? … Do you think these mean nothing?'" Urban said.