ST. CATHARINES – The Brock Badgers were down to just six healthy players as they opened the OUA women’s basketball playoffs.
It didn’t end well.
The Lakehead Thunderwolves, the No. 9 seed entering the postseason, won all four quarters Wednesday night and withstood a brief third-quarter charge by the No. 8 Badgers, going on to a lopsided 67-49 that vaulted them into Saturday’s second round against the Queen’s Gaels.
Jon Kreiner’s squad used a spread-out attack to wear down their opponent, with five LU players hitting double digits.
Jerika Baldin and Gillian Lavoie topped the Wolves with a dozen points apiece, while Lily Gruber-Schulz had 11 and Rachel Webber and Bridget O’Reilly chipped in 10 each.
Jessica Morris led all scorers with 14 for Brock.
Lakehead’s long-distance shooting remained a concern. After missing all 19 of their three-point attempts in their regular-season finale, they made just two of 15 against Brock.
Baldin made two of four attempts from beyond the arc.
The Thunderwolves lost 68-61 to Queen’s during OUA play.
