THUNDER BAY – Sports – (With files from Brock Sports Info) The Lakehead University women’s basketball (9-11) team were defeated by Brock (14-7) on Saturday evening by a score of 78-55, thus conceding the weekend sweep. Lakehead trailed 15-12 after one quarter, but in the second quarter Badgers senior guard Tara Gialonardo went 3-for-4 from beyond the three-point line while junior forwards Nicole Rosenkranz and Samantha deJong were feeding in the paint to help the Badgers extend their lead to 44-27 at halftime.
In the second half, the Badgers continued to play high-pressure defense and knock down their shots enroute to the 23-point victory.
Senior Lindsay Druery had a monster game for the Thunderwolves with game-highs in points, 18, and rebounds, 16. Carolyn Fragale finished with 11 points and Kelsey Bardsley added 10 points.
For the second night in a row, Brock had five players in double digits led by Rosenkranz with 14 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Kayla Santilli also netted 14 points, deJong finished with 13 points, and both Emily McKay and Andrea Polischuk added 11 points.
The Badgers shot 41.3% (31-for-75) from the field and 28.6% (6-for-21) from beyond the arc. Lakehead shot 35.1% (20-for-57) from the field and 23.8% (5-for-21) from three-point range.
The Badgers’ bench players outscored the Thunderwolves’ bench 25-7.
Coach Jon Kreiner said, after the game, “We had a great start to the game but we really struggled against Brock’s press tonight. 31 turnovers was the greatest difference from last night to tonight. We were really loose with the ball and allowed mistakes to really get us down. Druery was great tonight but we need the help we had last night. It comes down to our head to head competition vs Guelph for a playoff spot, not what we were hoping for but earning your way in can propel a team at the right time.”
Playoff Picture: This weekend’s results in Saint Catharines setup a ‘must win’ situation for Lakehead, who are tied now with Guelph in the OUA West standings at 9-11. Lakehead must either win both games next weekend, or in the case of losing 1 game and winning 1 game, have their margin of victory greater than their margin of defeat (points for and against).