Thunderwolves giveaways help McMaster to lopsided women's basketball win

THUNDER BAY -- Too many turnovers were too much to overcome Friday night for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

Giving the ball away 32 times is costly against any team, let alone the No. 8 team in the nation. The McMaster Marauders took advantage of the miscues and scored an easy 71-43 OUA women’s basketball win at the Thunderdome, buoyed by no less than four different double-digit runs.

There was a no way a team like McMaster wasn’t going to come out on top with that kind of help, said LU guard Cassandra Soulias, who finished with five points, seven rebounds and three assists.

“Personally I think we started out flat and that’s when they went on the runs in the first quarter and then the third quarter. We just had too many turnovers and they got a big lead,” Soulias said. “We’ve got to value the basketball more because Mac scored off a lot of the turnovers.”

It was a similar story that played out last weekend against Algoma, although the Wolves (4-6) proved to be the better team in that one, coming out on top against a winless Thunderbirds squad.

“I feel like it’s just decision-making and confidence out there. A lot of us are panicking too. So if we slow it down and take our time and focus on making the right decision, as opposed to just passing to the first person we see or shooting a contested shot,” Soulias said.

“We’ve really been working on it in practice, shooting contested shots. We just have to continue. We’re young, so I think experience is a big part of it as well.”

The Marauders simply overpowered the Thunderwolves in the first and third quarters, limiting Lakehead to just three buckets in the opening 10 minutes as they opened a 21-8 lead.

LU coach Jon Kreiner said he was encouraged when his team cut the lead to 10 at the half, but his joy was short-lived.

“The first three positions we turned it over for layups,” he said of the team’s second-half start. “We’ve got to get it over half court. We can’t play against this team if we’re just going to give them the basketball. We had too many unforced errors.”

Kreiner added of the 32 turnovers, 25 were dead giveaways, the Wolves players trying to do too much with the ball.

“We just have to try to keep things simple,” Kreiner said.

No Lakehead player managed to hit double digits in the contest, the Thunderwolves first home-court appearance of the second half.
Gillian Lavoie led the way for LU with nine points, Bridget O’Reilly picking up eight and Katelyn Andrea dropping in seven while grabbing eight boards.

Clare Kenney led McMaster (9-3) with 16 points, while Rachael Holmes collected 11.

Net shots: American guard Amanda Miller is no longer with Lakehead, leaving the team after the Christmas break for personal reasons. Hammarskjold grad Shannon McKitrick took her place on the roster.