Andrea erupts for 24, but Lakehead unable to knock off McMaster

Katelyn Andrea's recent surge continued on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset.

Andrea recorded a double-double, scoring a regular-season high 24 points and hauling in 10 rebounds, but the Lakehead Thunderwolves fell a bit short at the Thunderdome, dropping a 73-64 decision to the No. 8 McMaster Marauders.

While it wasn’t the difference in the game, it was the little things that hurt.

The Wolves missed six of 12 second-half free throws, for instance, something they’ll have to improve on as they make a run toward the OUA playoffs.

“Free throws have been our issue, kind of, the whole year,” said Andrea, a Thunder Bay native in her third season with the Thunderwolves.

“We definitely have to focus on that going forward. But Mac’s a great team and it’s just unfortunate we couldn’t come out with a win.”

No doubt it was a better showing than their first match-up Friday night, when the Marauders rolled to a 28-point victory.

In the rematch the two teams traded leads for most of the first quarter and the Thunderwolves managed to hang close until late in the fourth, when the Marauders pulled away in the final couple of minutes.

Down by as much as nine, three times Lakehead made it a one-possession game in the fourth.

They just couldn’t get the tying basket, said coach Jon Kreiner.

Despite the loss, which dropped the Thunderwolves record to 4-7, Kreiner was encouraged by the play of several players, including pivot August Rickets, who came off the bench to score 10 points, joining Andrea and Jerika Baldin, who had 13, in double digits.

Kreiner said he challenged Andrea to take more shots. He also gave her the opportunity, playing her in the post while pushing Ricketts and Gillian Lavoie closer to the perimeter.

“She scored a lot of points in the post. She made some good quick reads and she was aggressive. She’s continued to do a great job on the defensive boards. We need her a bit more on the offensive boards.”

Ricketts could also play an important role moving forward, Kreiner said.

“We’re hoping (she) can develop into an all-star calibre player. She has all the tools. She might be a bit under sized, but if she can get her conditioning up and get a little stronger and work on her outside shot a little bit so that she mix it up (she’ll thrive),” Kreiner said.

The Wolves led by as many as four points in the second quarter, but it was McMaster that took a 34-32 lead into halftime.

Lavoie closed the gap to one early in the third, but despite three defensive stops, the Thunderwolves were unable to jump in front again. McMaster led 52-45 after three.

Lakehead managed to hold all-star guard Danielle Boiago to just six points, but a trio of McMaster players more than made up the difference. Hilary Hanaka led the visitors with 18, with Siobhan Manning and Rachael Holmes each collecting 14 points.

“We know we can definitely play with the big teams now, so I hope everyone on the team realizes that, gets confidence from this and plays together moving forward,” Andrea said.