WBB: Strong start propels Wolves to fifth straight victory

The Lakehead Thunderwolves could have quit shooting early in the third quarter and still beat the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday night.

The No. 10 Thunderwolves, led by Jylisa Williams’ 22 – in limited minutes – rolled over a heavily outmatched and undermanned Thunderbirds squad, cruising to an easy 61-30 triumph.

Dressed in pink, the Wolves opened a 14-1 lead after one quarter and led 30-6 at the half. It gave coach Jon Kreiner a chance to open up his bench, giving valuable OUA minutes to his reserves while giving his starters some much-needed rest.

“It’s actually awesome to see,” said first-year forward Blair McNaugton, who finished with seven points in 16 minutes off the bench.

“We all work just as hard, we all play all the time in practice, we work as hard as we can. So it’s really nice for a big team effort in the game.”

Not knowing what might happen down the stretch, an untimely injury or an illness that could keep the Wolves go-to players out of the lineup, it’s important to see what everyone has to offer, said fifth-year guard Corina Bruni, who spent the last few seasons with Algoma, transferring back to Lakehead last fall for her final year of OUA eligibility.

It’s also good for morale, the Sault Ste. Marie native said, her team improving to 9-3 thanks to a fifth straight win.

“Our team is super close and we have a really, really great team chemistry that may go underrated for some people, but for us It’s just so much more exciting, because you really do want those players to score,” said Bruni, who only put up four points against her former team, but added five assists and an  equal number of steals.

“You want to share the ball, get everybody involved. That becomes a whole different energy. You never know what can happen. You never know who is going to step up on what night and everyone needs to be ready. Exposure like this is just going to make everyone that more ready.”

August Rickets put up six points, while Cassandra Soulias dropped in five for the home-court Wolves, who made 14 steals and held the Thunderbirds (0-12) to just 2-25 shooting from the field in the first half.

Kreiner said it’s not easy to keep focused for 40 minutes, especially in such a one-sided game.

He’d like to see a little more attention next weekend, when Waterloo and Laurier venture into the Thunderdome, the latter the No. 6 team in the nation.

“We definitely didn’t bring our A-game focus-wise. But at the same time it’s hard because you want to get rotations that aren’t normally playing with one another in and reserves in that really haven’t played all year,” Kreiner said.

“It’s really different than practice going into the games and playing in front of a crowd. It’s not easy for those kids. Sometimes you’ve just got to take the win and move on.”

Sydney Resch led the Thunderbirds with 11 points, eight of which came in the second half.

Beyond the arc: The Thunderwolves made 18 turnovers, the Thunderbirds 26 … It was Think Pink night, with LU players wearing pink jerseys in support of cancer research. Over the years the event has raised more than $32,000 … Thunder Bay’s Karissa Kajorinne, a third-year guard with Algoma, was an injured scratch. She’s a St. Ignatius grad and a former teammate of current LU starter Katelyn Andrea ... Algoma started the game with just seven players available and finished with five after injuries to Carlie Manners and Stephanie Jennings.