Skip to content

Hawks hold off Wolves in fourth

Four times the Lakehead Thunderwolves had the opportunity to take a fourth-quarter lead. Four times they rushed the shot, only to see it fall into the hands of the Laurier Golden Hawks.
Four times the Lakehead Thunderwolves had the opportunity to take a fourth-quarter lead.

Four times they rushed the shot, only to see it fall into the hands of the Laurier Golden Hawks.

In the end, the steady shooting of OUA all-star Renata Adamczyk and a timely six-point run with the game on the line ensured the women's basketball Wolves went down to defeat 58-51.

Adamczyk, who spent much of the Wolves crucial return from a seven-point deficit in the final quarter on the bench, saddled with four fouls.

But like riding a bicycle, Adamcyzk put in behind her quickly when coach Peter Campbell gave her the nod and sent her back in, the game on the line.

“I just had to help the team out and encourage the girls who were playing,” she said of her time on the bench.

“Most definitely (Lakehead) went on a big run and they tied up the game and we just had to get stops on D and get scoring again and get the momentum back on our end,” said Adamczyk, author of 16 points, tied with Lakehead’s Tasia McKenna for tops in the back-and-forth contest.

It was McKenna who keyed the LU comeback, scoring 12 of 15 points scored by the Thunderwolves at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter.

Her hot streak began in with 20 seconds to go in the third, when she nailed a three-pointer to make it 45-38 for Laurier heading into the fourth.

She dropped another trey to start the fourth, then hit one-of-two from the line, the miss going to Lindsay Druery on the offensive glass. The ball eventually wound up in McKenna’s hands again and buried a third three-pointer, pulling the Wolves to within two at 47-45.

Adamczyk re-established a four-point Golden Hawks advantage, but then Sarah Gordon, playing on an injured ankle that earlier in the week threatened to keep her on the sidelines, blasted a three of her own and the Wolves trailed by one.

McKenna was awarded a flagrant foul call and went to the line, but could only manage one of two free throws, tying the score 49-49.

The Wolves got the ball, but could not take advantage of the opportunity against the stifling Laurier defence, the stingiest in the entire OUA.

“Playing against them you’re going to take some poor shots because there’s a shot clock out there,” said LU coach Jon Kreiner. “You only have 24 seconds to take a shot. We talked to the girls about execution. We executed in spurts, but in the second quarter we scored five points, zero points for the first seven minutes.

“I give full credit to Laurier for being physical. We didn’t have great position. Our posts scored nine points against them or whatever it was. We never got the position we normally get. They did a great job pushing our posts out of position so we couldn’t get the easy touches inside.”

Christa Mancino put the Hawks (9-2) ahead for good with an easy hoop inside. Amber Hills doubled the lead with another easy basket and then Adamcyzk sealed it with a pair of timely free throws as the officials evened things out with a flagrant foul call the other way.

Lakehead trailed 20-16 after one quarter and 32-21 at the half. The loss, their third in four games, dropped the Wolves (7-4) into a three-way tie for fourth spot in the OUA West.

The two teams will tangle again on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Thunderdome.



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
Read more



push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks