THUNDER BAY – Three minutes in and Leashja Grant had four buckets, eight points and the Lakehead Thunderwolves were off to the races.
They didn’t quit running until the final buzzer sounded.
Grant finished with 29 points and 12 boards, but more importantly her team snapped a costly three-game losing streak that knocked them out of the national top 10, crushing the visiting sixth-place Western Mustangs 97-60 on Friday night at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse.
“We just had a plan going into today’s game, to play as hard as we can and execute the game plan that coach had given us,” Grant said.
“Coach wanted to get the ball inside and see how they were going to guard, see if they were going to double team. That was just the plan going into the first.”
The Mustangs (5-12) really didn’t have an answer for Grant in the opening half. She finished the first quarter with 12 points and added 10 more in the second as Lakehead jumped out in front 51-36 at the half.
“They were double-teaming from the baseline, but it was still easy to go baseline and score, so once I knew they were giving me the baseline, I just continued,” Grant said. “I didn’t do anything fancy, I just tried to get what they were giving me.”
For coach Jon Kreiner, it was a chance to make a statement to the rest of the country, coming off three straight losses, two last weekend on the road to No. 4 McMaster, by a combined five points.
Kreiner isn’t certain the Wolves (13-4) should have been bounced from the top 10, and wants to do everything in his power to ensure they get back, while also looking to maintain a hold on second place in the OUA West, which would earn them a first-round bye.
“We wanted to come out and make a statement for ourselves. We were hungry. We know what our end goal is and we want to be a team that can contend in the playoffs. There were a number of factors that made us want to come out and make a statement tonight,” Kreiner said.
Having likely lost forward Lily Gruber-Schulz to a broken foot for the rest of the season, Kreiner is looking for everyone to step up and help fill the gap.
Grant, the reigning OUA most valuable player, led the way.
“We wanted to dicate inside in the paint. Obviously it hurts with Lily out right now, our smartest big … so we really wanted to set the tone with Leashja,” Kreiner said.
The Wolves put the game away – not that it was really ever in doubt – in the third and fourth, going on a 23-0 run that stretched the lead from 64-47 to 87-47.
Nikki Ylagan got hot in the second and finished with 18, while Kielly McDonough came off the bench to score 12, hitting four three-pointers.
It was a timeout called by Kreiner early in the third that helped them put it away for good.
“He yelled at us a bit and then after that we just took them over,” McDonough said, adding it felt great to contribute.
“My role on the team is as a shooter, and recently I’ve been lacking on my shot. I was thinking about it too much and not being confident,” she said. “I felt confident going in and it was good,” McDonough said.
The two teams tip off again on Saturday, tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.
Lakehead 85, Western 84: The Thunderwolves men's team pulled off a shocking upet, edging ninth-ranked Western 85-84 on rookie Jared Kreiner's three-pointer at the buzzer. The Wolves led 27-8 after the opening quarter. Lakehead led by as much as 20, but a 15-0 run by the Mustangs had Western in front by four in the fourth. Jared Kreiner sank the game-winning three-pointer with 14-seconds to go. Isaiah Traylor had 29 to lead Lakehead offensively.
