THUNDER BAY – Sports – On to the Basketball playoffs! The Lakehead University Thunderwolves are playoff bound.
The OUA playoffs commence this Wednesday for Lakehead’s basketball teams, with the women travelling to Hamilton to play McMaster (6:00pm) and the men hosting the Western Mustangs in the Thunderdome at 7:00PM.
Lakehead Men Win Their Playoff Spot
Women (12-10, 5th OUA West))
Lakehead split the season series against the Marauders (13-9), winning the first game 52-46 before dropping the next night’s game 72-63. In their win, Lakehead was able to limit all-star post Hallie Milligan to 15 points and the Marauders to 28% shooting from the floor. The Marauders used 36 free throw attempts (hitting 26), along with Danielle Boiago’s 22 points in their victory over the ‘Wolves.
Lakehead’s line-up is in good form of late with Jylisa Williams taking the helm of the offense, shooters and rebounders performing well, and the team playing great defense. This will be the team’s first trip to the post season in three years.
Thrilled with the Opportunity
Coach Jon Kreiner states, “We’re thrilled at the opportunity to play in our second season. We are coming off three straight wins and playing well at the right time of the year but McMaster is a very tough and experienced opponent who is coming off two wins of their own. Milligan and Boiago are the keys for this team but it was players like Elizabeth Burns and Rachael Holmes that hurt us. We will certainly need to pick our poison and play smart on the road but with how strong our division is this year, anything is possible right through the playoffs.”
Men (9-13, 4th OUA West)
The men’s team accomplished the improbable, getting some help from OUA opponents last week and winning their last 3 games to slip into 4th place in the OUA West, thus earning a home playoff game.
The Mustangs are coming off 4 straight losses (2 of them by 1 point), and will play their 4th game in 8 days against the Thunderwolves Wednesday night.
Lakehead lost 73-72 to the Mustangs back in January in their first match-up before dropping a lop-sided 73-47 decision to them the following night. The ‘Wolves will hope to get help from the high intensity playoff environment in the Thunderdome, where the ‘Wolves haven’t lost a playoff game since 2001.
Lakehead Women Win over Guelph
Coach Matt Erdman says, “We finished the regular season on a positive note so hopefully that confidence carries over to Wednesday night. It’s great everything aligned and we’re able to play at home with a short turnaround. Western is a tough match-up for anyone because they have some extremely versatile players and our guys must understand playoffs are a whole new animal.”
Game Schedule
Wed, Feb 19
Women @ McMaster – 6:00pm – Webcast available via Marauders TV
Men vs. Western – 7:00pm – Webcast available via SSN Canada
