Thunderwolves Women’s Basketball Advances to Quarter Finals

It was a close first 5 minutes of the game, as both teams understood what was at stake. Lakehead pushed ahead nearing the end of the first going on a 14-0 run to give them a 19-6 lead. Lakehead maintained their energy in the second and led 30-15 going into the half.

After being down 17, Laurier was able to capitalize on Lakehead’s turnovers and hit some big shots. The Golden Hawks brought it within 5 but the Thunderwolves re-grouped in the fourth. Lakehead got their offense going while continuing to go hard on the boards and walked away with the 74-60 win at the final buzzer.

“We had a lot of grit tonight when Laurier stormed back. We had a very strong first half defensively but Laurier found some weaknesses and exploited them well in the third quarter. Tiffany was really big for us going 5-5 in minimal minutes at key times. I thought many of our young players stepped up at times and made some positive contributions. When we move the ball good things happen and we will need great ball movement when we play Windsor.” – Coach Jon Kreiner

Leashja Grant put up 27 points with 16 rebounds tonight and Jerika Baldin had 13 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. Tiffany Reynolds had a great game back from an injury with 11 points. Lakehead out-rebounded Laurier 50-28 and had 24 total assists.

The Thunderwolves will now advance to the quarterfinals to face the West Division’s second seed, Windsor Lancers on February 24 at 7:00 pm. Lakehead faced Windsor earlier in January losing both nights, 67-56 on Friday and 72-57 on Saturday. The Lancers finished the regular season off 20-4 with their losses coming from McMaster, Carleton and Queen’s. Lakehead will need to focus on shutting down Emily Prevost, who is averaging 15 points per game, as well as any of their other strong shooters who can spot up anywhere.

Next game: Saturday, February 24 @ Windsor at 7:00 pm.