Soulias, O'Reilly lead Thunderwolves to non-conference win

It’s amazing what a little energy can do.

The Lakehead Thunderewolves, a little sluggish on Thursday night, couldn’t run with the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen and wound up on the losing end of the score.

Friday was a different story altogether.

Led by Bridget O’Reilly’s 18 and 16 from third-year guard Cassandra Soulias, the Wolves pulled away in the fourth quarter to score a 71-63 win over the Wesmen, evening their pre-season record at 1-1.

“Last night I don’t think we pushed the ball in the second half,” said O’Reilly, who landed three of seven three-point attempts, scoring 11 of her 18 points in the final two quarters.

“Tonight we actually continued to push the ball continuously on the floor and actually worked as a team the whole game this time, not just half the game or part of the game.”

It was the fourth that proved to be the difference.

The two teams were separated by just four points entering the final quarter, but thanks to an early 11-2 run, stretched it to as many as 11.

“We capitalized on their mistakes. We were trying to shut down No. 8 (Kerri Kuzbyt) and No. 7 (Megan Noonan) and it worked,” O’Reilly said.

Noonan, the 11th-leading scorer in the nation last season, averaging 17.2 points a night, collected just six points in Friday’s Thunderdome loss. Just one of those points came in the second half.

Kuzbyt, held to a lone three-pointer in the opening half, scored just two buckets in the second, matching Noonan’s total of seven.

The Wolves success came without the services of forward Katelyn Andrea, injured early in Thursday’s loss.

Soulias was asked to step in and met, if not blew by, expectations.

While the 16 points were nice, it was her defence that impressed coach Jon Kreiner.

“We really need Cass to step up and she showed some really nice things in the last game (last year) in the second half against Windsor at the Final Four. She can score. She sometimes relies on making some good plays or scoring offence to get into the game,” Kreiner said.

“But tonight she got her defence going. She got her energy going to the offensive boards and just finding ways to go.”

Soulias grabbed five boards, dished out a pair of assists and also had a steal.

It was a confidence-builder, she said.

“In last night’s game, we didn’t really have a lot of energy and with Katelyn out, I didn’t want our team to feel down,” Soulias said. “We all knew we had to step in and provide that energy. And I’m glad I could provide that for the team tonight.”

Brittania Brown led the Wesmen with 14 points. Gillian Lavoie had nine rebounds for Lakehead, to lead all players.