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WBB: Thunderwolves crush McMaster on road to advance to OUA semifinal

It was raining threes in Hamilton. Propelled by nine baskets from beyond the arc in the opening half, the Lakehead Thunderwolves cruised Saturday into the OUA women’s basketball semifinals, trouncing the host No. 8 McMaster Marauders 82-49.

It was raining threes in Hamilton.

Propelled by nine baskets from beyond the arc in the opening half, the Lakehead Thunderwolves cruised Saturday into the OUA women’s basketball semifinals, trouncing the host No. 8 McMaster Marauders 82-49.

Once again it was OUA MVP candidate Jylisa Williams leading the way, finishing two boards short of a triple-double.

Williams, the former Georgia State player who joined the No. 9 Wolves midway through last season, finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and six steals.

But scoring wasn’t her concern in the early stages, as the Wolves formulated a plan to get past McMaster, a team Lakehead split with during the regular season.

The goal, said coach Jon Kreiner, reached by phone after the lopsided win, was for Williams to draw the attention the Marauders’ defenders, leaving the likes of Katie Ulakovic, Bridget O’Reilly and Corina Bruni open beyond the arc.

It worked to perfection, Kreiner said.

Ulakovic dropped five three-pointers in the first half and finished with 16, while Bruni scored 10 and O’Reilly nine to lead LU’s offensive charge.

“We really wanted to start (Jylisa) off finding open players and having our kids ready to shoot and score,” Kreiner said.

“We had a few sets that were ready. They switched to zone and we just kept it up.”

Thunder Bay’s Ulakovic, who struggled at times this season finding her range, was on fire in the first half.

It’s the type of performance the Wolves will need going forward, especially against the Windsor Lancers, their opponent in the next round.

It was good to see, Kreiner said.

“Katie really was fantastic. Not only did she give us the huge spark we needed shooting-wise, she also shut down one of the top players in the country in Danielle Boiago,” Kreiner said. “It’s hard to do. It’s tough to have those shooting legs when you’re also out there giving everything you have defensively.

“But I’ve never seen Katie more ready to play and more focused. She was so engaged into the moment. I’m really proud of her.”

Boiaga, third in the OUA with an 18.9 points-per-game average and second to the record-setting Williams with 360 points, only managed to hit two field goals, both in the second half after the game was well in hand for Lakehead.

About the only fault to be found with the Thunderwolves game was their lack of success at the charity stripe.

Lakehead only hit five of 15 free-throw attempts, including five straight misses by Williams, a 79.8 per cent shooter from the line during regular-season play.

“She had a chuckle at me because she missed her free throws,” Kreiner said.

“But she was a couple of assists and a couple of steals from a quadruple-double.”

With 10 points, Hilary Hanaka led McMaster, who trailed 53-16 at  the half and gave up a season-high 82.

Lakehead will play No. 1 Windsor, who will host the OUA Final Four,  next Friday in the OUA semifinal. Queen's will take on Ryerson in the other semifinal.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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