THUNDER BAY – Karissa Kajorinne may be in her first year with the Lakehead Thunderwolves, but she brings plenty of experience to the team.
A veteran of four OUA seasons with the Algoma Thunderbirds, Kajorinne spent the past two seasons on the sidelines.
She’s also coming off knee surgery.
On Thursday night she made her return to the court, scoring five points and grabbing six boards off the bench, to help lead the Thunderwolves to a 93-66 drubbing of her former team at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse.
The former St. Ignatius star was far from mid-season form, but said it felt good to get back into action and prove to herself she’s still got what it takes to compete at the university level.
“I think I’m probably the oldest, so I feel like an old lady, but it’s actually nice to be back” said Kajorinne after the non-conference triumph.
“It’s more exciting than I anticipated, but I’m loving it.”
Kajorinne averaged 8.9 points a game for the Thunderbirds in 2016-17, her final year with the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. team., hitting slightly more than a third of her three-point attempts.
While she was 0-for-4 from beyond the arc on Thursday, Kajorinne said it’s going to take some time to get back into game shape.
“I think once the rust shakes off, I’m hoping to come back in,” she said. “It’s definitely different taking a year off and being a little bit older and coming back, but I’m looking forward to the year.”
Her experience could be invaluable this season as the Wolves look to take full advantage of their second and final year with Bahamian Bomber Leashja Grant leading the charge.
Grant, the reigning OUA most valuable player had 34 points in 23 minutes on Thursday, haulhing in 10 boards to continue her double-double ways.
The Wolves have seven true rookies on the roster, a group led by Spanish import Sofia Lluch, who finished with 11 points and led the team with five assists in her debut.
“I’m the eighth first-year, as a transfer. So we do have half young and half older, so it is nice to be able to do leadership stuff for the young ones, having been around for so long,” said Kajorinne, who has pretty basic expectations for herself this season.
“Just be a leader, hit some shots,” she said.
Coach Jon Kreiner has set the bar slightly higher when it comes to his 5-foot-8 guard.
“At times I put her on the point guard, at times put her on their best player. Defensively she does some nice things. She’s going to be a player who could start for us, but she’s going to be the leader of our bench squad and she’s going to be that sixth man award type of thing – and really give leadership to our team,” Kreiner said, calling her a potential all-star.
Lakehead and Algoma meet again on Friday, tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.
Beyond the arc: Thunder Bay twins Kayla and Keyra Gallo made their debuts for Algoma. Kayla Gallo had three points, hitting a second-half trey. Keyra Gallo was held off the score sheet, but did have a rebound.
