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Wolves fall on senior's night to Queen's

Kielly McDonough had 12 points and Nikki Ylagan added six more as the Wolves fall 83-64 at the hands of the visiting Gaels.
Kielly McDonough Lily Gruber-Schulz Nikki Ylagan
Graduating Lakehead Thunderwolves seniors Kielly McDonough, Lily Gruber-Schulz Nikki Ylagan played their final home game at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY – Kielly McDonough wanted to go out on a high note.

On a personal level, the sharp-shooting fourth-year guard did exactly that, coiming off the bench to score 12 points on four three-pointers and getting the chance to celebrate her final home game at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse with family and friends in the crowd.

From a team standpoint, it wasn’t quite the finish the Lakehead Thunderwolves were looking for to build momentum into a tough playoff task on the road on Wednesday against the Windsor Lancers.

The Wolves, who led 20-14 after an impressive first quarter, were outdueled 27-9 in the second and went on to an 81-64 defeat at the hands of the Queen’s Golden Gaels.

“It was a lot of pressure,” said McDonough, a graduate of Hammarskjold High School.

“Queen’s was a better team than playing Ontario Tech yesterday, so we knew we had to come in and compete harder. Having our family here and everyone here, knowing it’s your last game, it almost made it easier to play well. I wanted to get one more three, because I seemed to be capped at four threes, but it’s OK, I’m fine with that.”

It wasn’t senior guard Nikki Ylagan’s best game in a Thunderwolves uniform, but the soon-to-be graduate did manage to bury a pair of shots from beyond the arc and handed out three assists.

It was an emotional night, the southern Ontario native said.

“It’s been a roller coaster of emotions – exciting and sad at the same time because it is my last time playing here at the Thunderdome. But it’s also really exciting and I’m really happy to have made the decision to come here to Lakehead,” said Ylagan, whose university career might not yet be done if she decides to finish up elsewhere with a sports management degree, a program not offered her current school.

“I’m also thinking of probably going overseas, so that’s another option I’d like to go into. I’m not sure yet.”

Ylagan said the Gaels made the most of their pressure defence, after allowing the Wolves to go on a 13-2 first-quarter run and open up an early six-point lead.

“I think we came into the second half and I think we handled that pressure. We gave them a lot of threes and they were just making them tonight,” Ylagan said.

The Gaels nailed 11 three-pointers and turned the ball over just 10 times. They were also able to create points of LU’s 11 turnovers.

Down 41-29 at the half, the Gaels were outscored by three in the third, but started the fourth on a 7-2 run and never looked back.

Julia Chadwick topped all scorers with 19, while teammate Laura Donovan had 14.

“We competed with a really good first quarter. The Thunderdome crowd was into it. We were into it. We struggled in the second quarter against Queen’s pressure, something that will really help up with whoever we play in the playoffs,” said LU coach Jon Kreiner.

“We’ve struggled against pressure. It’s really displaced us and gave us some moments where we weren’t scoring out there.”

Injured forward Lily Gruber-Schulz, who also isn't returning next season, got into the game in the final minute and picked up an assist on Ylagan's second and final three-pointer. 

Game time Wednesday night is 6 p.m.



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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