THUNDER BAY, ON – Sports – Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball Head Coach Jon Kreiner is pleased to announce the commitments of point guard Abeer Farhat (Ottawa, ON) and post Gillian Lavoie (Thunder Bay, ON). This will be the third and fourth players to commit to the Lakehead University Women’s Basketball Program in the past 10 days.
ABEER FARHAT
5’3 Point Guard
Program: Women’s & gender studies with a Minor in Law.
Hometown: Ottawa, ON
Previous Team: Algonquin College (ranked 7th in Canada)
STATS: 15.1 PTS per game, 4.3 Rebounds per game, 2.8 assists & 2.8 Steals per game, 44% 3pt, 79.5 FT%
Achievements
Individual:
Team Captain 2011-12, 2012-13
OCAA East division Second team all-star
OCAA East division All-Rookie Team
CCAA Second team all-star
Team:
OCAA East Division Champions 2012
OCAA Gold Medalists
JUEL of Ontario Gold Medalist 2011
Abeer in explaining her choice to attend Lakehead University, “I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the Thunderwolf family and play for Lakehead University and Coach Kreiner. I never thought I would find myself in Thunder Bay but I had the opportunity to visit in the Fall and loved everything about it. I instantly got a good vibe from the city, campus life, the girls on the team, and Coach as well. I ultimately chose Lakehead because I know my passion for the game and work ethic is a perfect fit and I can’t wait continue to improve and take the next step to transition from college to CIS basketball.”
Coach Kreiner shared, “Abeer comes in to solidify our point guard position. She has national experience and has been a winner at every level. Abeer is a tremendously smart player and knows how to run an offense. She has been a great scorer for her Algonquin team and she is also a great passer who can set up her teammates. Abeer is basketball, she loves everything about the game and she wants to be the best she can be every game, every practice and every drill. She’ll be asked to help lead our team to a higher level and make her teammates better. She is not afraid to demand a higher standard from her teammates in terms of work and focus. I am looking forward to adding Abeer’s leadership and competitive qualities to our team for the 2013-14 season.”
Abeer’s coach at Algonquin College, John MacInnis, reinforces the type of player Abeer is. “Abeer is a special person and player. I have the utmost confidence she will have an impact at the CIS level with her leadership, determination and tenacity. She has been one of my most talented and hardest working players over the past two seasons and I wish her the best as she heads to Thunder Bay to join the Thunderwolves.”
GILLIAN LAVOIE
6’0 Post
Academic Field of Interested: Political Science and Business
Hometown: Thunder Bay, ON
Previous Team: Hammarskjold High School Trojans
STATS: 11 Points per game, 13 Rebounds per game, 6 Assists per game
Achievements
High School Captain 2012
SSSAA All Star 2011, 2012
Sault College All Star 2012
MVP of St. Matthew Fall Classic 2012
St. Matthew’s Fall Classic Bronze Medalist in Senior Premier Division 2012
2nd Place girls SSSAA 2011 & 2012
1st Place in Lakehead University Tournament 2012
Gillian on why she wants to play for Lakehead University shared, “I have been in the ‘Wolves program for six years and it has been Coach Kreiner who has taught me how to play the game of basketball. After making the Junior Wolves program it has been a dream of mine to play basketball in University and Lakehead is a good fit. I am extremely excited to play for Coach Kreiner so that I can transition from high school to University ball smoothly.”
Coach Kreiner on Gillian’s commitment stated, “Gillian Lavoie is going to be a strong CIS player. She is hard working, determined and is willing to do what it takes to get better. Having coached Gill for six years I can say she has what it takes to be a force. She needs to work hard on a few things but Gill will not back down from anyone and will have an impact with our program in no time.”
