THUNDER BAY – Sports – This weekend will feature one of the Lakehead women’s volleyball team’s rare evening matches, while the basketball teams square off against OUA West rival Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo. The wrestling squad will grapple at the Brock Open in St Catharines.
Wrestling: Head coach Brock Curtis travels with the wrestling team to St. Catharines for the annual Brock Badgers’ Open tournament. The team will send 18 athletes, which will likely represent a lot of the ‘OUA’ roster as the team prepares for the OUA conference championships that are right around the corner in mid February. Ten men and eight women will travel this weekend as the team attempts to regain their place in the national rankings, and see how they match up with the field at the Brock Open, which will be primarily Ontario University teams, with Concordia and one Canada West team usually attending.
Brock Curtis shares, “I expect some good results from both the women’s and the men’s team. So far this season, we’ve been counted out of the rankings, and I believe that’s a mistake. Hopefully, we can show that this weekend, as we have some very talented wrestlers ready to prove it.”
Men’s Basketball: Coach Scott Morrison’s troops will have to pack a lunch with them this weekend, as they put their 9-1 record on the line against ‘Pistol’ Pete Campbell’s 9-1 Laurier Golden Hawks, as both teams vie for top spot in the OUA West.
Laurier is led by outside shooters Max Allin and Kale Harrison, while forwards Matt Buckley and Patrick Donnelly provide tough checks in the paint for Lakehead posts. Laurier’s high-octane offense, which typically scores in the 80’s, has produced 100+ point games this season. It will be key for Lakehead to control the flow of the game with their defense and not get into a shootout, especially on the second night when the ‘Wolves’ legs will likely be more fatigued. That being said, the bench has proven themselves capable of stepping up when called upon by Morrison to make stops and execute down the stretch.
Coach Morrison’s focus is on transition defense and controlling the glass, “This weekend brings the toughest back-to-back games we have played on the road this season. Laurier has many weapons on the floor and play well together- our first priorities for the weekend include finding Laurier’s snipers in transition as well as giving our best effort of the 2nd half on the boards.”
Game times Friday and Saturday are 8 pm.
Webcasts of the games @ Laurier are available at : www.laurierathletics.com/live.
Women’s Basketball: The women’s team, currently with a 6-4 record and 4th place standing in the OUA West will attempt to leap-frog Laurier, who is 3rd in the standings with a record of 7-3.
Laurier has a well balanced attack, led by rookie 6’1 forward Shelby Kurt with 12.5 PPG. 5’3″ Point guard Felicia Mazerolle is 2nd leading scorer (11.2 PPG) & the Golden Hawks’ leader in assists, steals and FT%. Fifth year senior Christa Mancino leads the team in blocks & is their 3rd scoring option (9.2 PPG). 5’8 Guard Doreen Bonsu is teams leading rebounder at 9.0 RPB.
Coach Jon Kreiner on the weekend’s challenges states, “Laurier is a very well balanced team. They have key players but they also have key elements of fundamental success throughout the team. They are a very tough team to match up against and everyone works hard and plays tough. This will be a great battle of toughness and wills and we shall find out just how tough we are this weekend”.
Game times Friday and Saturday are 6 pm.
Webcasts of the games @ Laurier are available at : www.laurierathletics.com/live.