Women’s basketball team suffer second consecutive loss in tight finish

Lakehead’s women’s basketball team lost their first match of a two-game weekend against McMaster, 73-71. Lakehead led by as much as 10 points late in the third quarter, but ultimately came up short in the back-and-forth final moments of the game. The loss moves Lakehead to 12-3, while McMaster inches forward to 13-2.

“We really, really battled tonight,” Thunderwolves head coach Jon Kreiner said. “There were times we grinded out double-digit leads, but we let Mac back in time and time again by giving up offensive rebounds and sending them to the free throw line.”

The two teams battled back and forth in what was a physical, fast-paced game marked by gritty play. The two teams combined for 95 rebounds—including 43 offensive—27 steals, and a whopping 44 turnovers.

Two Thunderwolves fouled out in the final moments—Leashja Grant and Tiffany Reynolds—and three other players finished with four fouls of their own. McMaster collected only 18 personal fouls to Lakehead’s 27.

“Overall, we did a fine job defending McMaster’s three point game, and never gave up in some tough moments in the fourth,” Kreiner said. The Thunderwolves held McMaster to 25% shooting from outside.

After Lakehead’s 10-point lead dwindled and gave way a Marauders lead that held for briefly in the fourth, the Thunderwolves battled back to bring the game to its ultimate back-and-forth conclusion.

Leashja Grant led the way for Lakehead, finishing with 15 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 steals, Lily Gruber-Schulz added a double-double of her own with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Karissa Kajorinne contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Nikki Ylagan finished second in scoring for Lakehead, dropping 14 points.

The Thunderwolves as a team, however, shot an uncharacteristically poor 25% from outside during the game.

“We need to learn from our mistakes,” Kreiner said, “and to regroup for the rematch tomorrow.”

Special note: Lakehead and McMaster will face off again tomorrow at a rescheduled time of 2pm in advance of an anticipated storm in southern Ontario. The game will be available for webcast courtesy of OUA.tv