THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves are a win away from a spot in the OUA women’s basketball Final 8.
Standing in their way are the Ottawa Gee-Gees, a team that dismantled the Wolves 83-55 in November, the No. 2 team in the nation.
But first they had to get past the Guelph Gryphons, a pesky 9-15 squad that earlier this week upset the Windsor Lancers in the opening round of the playoffs and gave the Wolves a rough ride in both meetings this season, Lakehead needing strong second halves each night to pull out the win.
It was more of the same on Saturday night, the Gryphons hanging around for most of the contest before coming up short, the host Thunderwolves finally claiming a hard-fought 79-71 triumph.
Tiffany Reynolds, who sparked the win with a 14-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist effort, said they’ve been waiting for more than three months for a second crack at Ottawa, a team that suffered just two defeats all season long and joined the Wolves in the semifinals with an 89-53 win over the York Lions.
“We haven’t forgotten that loss. That loss taught us a lot because we were going in on a high. We had a nine-game winning streak and they took it from us,” Reynolds said.
“They’re a really good team. They have a big-man who is 6-foot-4, bigger than Leashja (Grant), definitely challenging for her. But she’ll learn, she’ll pick it up and she’ll play hard.”
Lakehead was forced into must-win territory by virtue of Ryerson’s 74-49 loss to Carleton, who will take on McMaster in the other semifinal.
The Rams, as hosts, have an automatic berth at nationals, and would have earned the OUA a third spot had they advanced to the championship game.
There’s still a wild-card, but the RPI numbers aren’t in Lakehead’s favour, with Concordia, Regina and McMaster ahead of them in ratings.
Reynolds said they’re not feeling the pressure, facing essentially a must-win game.
“No, it’s always the same. No matter who wins, no matter who loses, we just focus on our own game and we just know we’ve got to go out there and play our hardest to win.”
Reynolds couldn’t have played much harder than she did against the Gryphons.
“Before the game we had a meeting and we talked about our roles and what we were all going to contribute to this game to make it further down the line and I said my job is to go out there, work hard and do what I have to do to help my team, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Grant, who celebrated her 25th birthday on Friday, responded with a 24-point, nine-rebound effort, despite finding being frustrated by the Gryphons at times, to the point coach Jon Kreiner pulled her from the court and had a one-on-one with her to help her regain her focus.
“We knew Guelph wasn’t going to come in here and give us the win. They were going to battle and it’s just really good to be a part of that,” Grant said, adding Kreiner told his players beforehand they needed to stay composed.
Grant said the goal against Ottawa is to match their intensity.
“Everybody’s got good size and length and everybody’s got great ability,” Grant said. “So we’ve just got to go in there with the mentality of what we’re trying to accomplish.
Karissa Kajorinne contributed 20 points and Nikki Ylagan had nine, hitting three from beyond the arc. Modupe Okeowo had 19 to lead the Gryphons.
The Wolves led by six after one, extended it to seven at the half and eight after three quarters.
Guelph closed the gap to 67-65 late in the fourth, but Kajorinne responded with a three-pointer and Grant converted a pinpoint pass from Reynolds to seal the victory.
The Wolves and Gee-Gees will play Wednesday night in Ottawa.
