THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – Lakehead’s women’s basketball team defeated the Brock Badgers 90-53 on Friday, improving to 19-4 in OUA play. Brock drops to 11-12.
“This was a great win for us tonight,” Thunderwolves head coach Jon Kreiner said. “We came ready to play.”
The Badgers came out of the gate with intensity, holding Lakehead to an even score at the end of the first, 18-18. There were six total lead changes in the first quarter.
“Brock had a good start,” Kreiner said, “and Tatti hurt us early, but we made some adjustments.”
Melissa Tatti, who finished with Brock’s team-high 15 points, scored 9 in the first quarter alone. Lakehead, however, fought back in the second quarter, pulling out to a 42-33 lead.
“I was happy with how we responded overall,” Kreiner said.
It was more of the same in the second half, as the Thunderwolves expanded their lead out to 28, as it was 69-41 after three. Lakehead outscored the Badgers 23-12 in the final frame, and 48-20 in the second half as a whole.
The Thunderwolves were led by Leashja Grant’s 19 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Karissa Kajorinne added 18 points, 4 assists, and 1 steal. Nikki Ylagan and Tiffany Reynolds scored 13 apiece, with Reynolds adding 7 rebounds. Charlotte Clifford contributed 8 points and 5 rebounds off the bench, and first-year player Julia Dunbar tossed in 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in only 7 minutes of play.
The two teams return to the court for a rematch tomorrow night, again at 6 pm.
“We need to continue to develop our play on both ends of the floor as we get ready for playoffs,” Kreiner said. “I think we took a step forward in getting ready. When we play tough D and get defensive touches we are a tough team to beat.”
Basketball games are available via webcast courtesy of OUA.tv
Special note: the women’s basketball team will host a playoff game at the Thunderdome on Saturday, February 23rd. Tickets for the game are now for sale at the Fieldhouse, and online.
