THUNDER BAY -- Jon Kreiner already knows Jerika Baldin can pass the ball.
After all, she led the nation in assists in her third season with the Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball team.
But at the OUA level, it doesn’t take teams long to figure out they have to pay a little more attention to a player like Baldin, block the passing lanes and force her to shoot the ball more.
And that is her biggest weakness, an area her coach would like to see her improve on as the Wolves get set to start regular-season play on Saturday at home against the Algoma Thunderbirds.
“I think she’s the best passer that I’ve seen at this level. For the lack of offensive ability that she has, her passing is unbelievable,” said Kreiner, entering his 14th year behind the Thunderwolves bench.
“Teams are starting to play her a lot differently and trying to let her shoot and score … so we’re trying to create that situation in practice. She has to improve her shooting, but I think she’s just barely reached the surface of how good she can be.”
In 2015-16, Baldin averaged 7.1 assists per game, 2.2 more than her nearest rival. But she only put up 6.3 points per night and shot just 28.4 per cent from the field.
The Brantford, Ont. native, named the team’s player of the month in October, will be counted on even more out of the gate as Kreiner switches to a smaller, faster lineup to make up for the absence of forward Katelyn Andrea, whose broken foot will likely keep her out of the lineup until the second half arrives.
She’s also expected to take up more of a leadership role as she enters her fourth season in Thunder Bay.
Baldin knows it won’t be as easy as it looked a year ago.
“I know people are going to start playing me differently. They’re going to start playing the pass and respecting that, so I’ve worked a lot on my scoring capabilities, like finishing around the rim,” she said. “Me attacking harder is going to make people more open once I start scoring baskets.”
The results have yet to find their way to the score sheet, at least in pre-season play, when Baldin hit double digit points just once in five appearances, averaging just 4.2 points a game as the Wolves finished 3-3 in non-conference play.
But she did put up 11 points against Bishop’s, hitting 5-of-11 from the field, an encouraging sign.
Tip-off on Saturday is 6 p.m. at the Thunderdome. The men's team plays at 8 p.m.
Notes: Lakehead has five rookies on its roster this season, guard s Nikki Ylagan, Za’Keea Saa’edd-El and Kielly McDonough, forwards Lily Gruber-Schulz and pivot Daron Mainville. Returnees other than Baldin include guards Rachel Webber, Katelyn Zen, Cassandra Soulias and Maggie Murphy, wings Lindsay Edward and Bridget O’Reilly, forward Katelyn Andrea and pivots Gillian Lavoie and August Ricketts. Gone are guard Kylee Kuchta and forward Blair McNaughton.
