WBB: Thunderwolves knock off Ravens for first victory of season

The Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball team has finally found the win column.

And they knocked off a pretty good Carelton Ravens team on Saturday night to get there.

The Wolves (1-3) raced out to a 14-point lead after one quarter, survived a Ravens rush in the second and held on in the fourth for a 67-61 triumph at the Thunderdome, their first win in four outings this season.

Guard Katelyn Zen, who posted 16 points – two of which were credited to her when Carelton’s Lindsay Shotbolt inexplicably put a layup into her own net – said getting that first win should provide a huge boost of confidence to a young team going forward.

“We haven’t really played that well, so it’s nice to actually finally win a huge game against Carleton, a really tough team, on our home court,” the fourth-year Zen said.

Unlike previous efforts, when a second-quarter lull paved the way to defeat, the Wolves didn’t let it get to them against the Ravens (2-2), who trailed 24-10 after 10 minutes, but cut the lead to four by halftime.

“That was the biggest difference today. We’re a really young team and I’m the oldest player and not really experienced,” Zen said.

“It’s a lot of learning experiences and not doing so well and having to fight to get back into the game. But this time we didn’t let it faze us, so it was a huge learning experience for our team.”

One thing the Wolves did really well was limit the Ravens outside shooting game, holding them to just 3-of-18 from three-point territory.
Lakehead took just as many treys, but hit six, including five from Bridget O’Reilly, who led all scorers with 18 points.

The game also marked a chance for rookie guard Rachel Webber to step into the spotlight, grabbing minutes made available with Cassandra Soulias sidelined with an ankle injury.

Webber stepped up, scoring 10 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.

“Getting that first win really helped us,” Webber said. “It’s going to bring the momentum for us in the next two games and just give a bump up to ourselves and give us confidence. Now we’re good to go from there,” said Webber, a player coach Jon Kreiner called the engine that drives the Thunderwolves ship.

Webber, who missed time this season because of a concussion, said they didn’t let the Ravens runs get them down.

“(Coach) always tells us keep the energy going, keep the energy up and don’t put our heads in holes like ostriches, is what he likes to say,” the Ancaster, Ont. native said.

“We made sure this game not to do that. Every time they made their run we just fought back and kept pushing instead of getting scared and stop playing.”

Trailing by six entering the fourth, the Ravens cut their deficit to one on two possessions, a three-pointer by Cynthia Dupont-Letou starting the charge. But Gillian Lavoie and O’Reilly hit back-to-back buckets to restore a five-point lead.

Carleton’s Heather Lindsay, who gave the Wolves fits in the post, pulled the Ravens within three late in the fourth, but Webber hit the only two free throws she’d make in six attempts to stretch the lead again. O’Reilly iced it with a long three with a dozen seconds left.

“We didn’t want to wait for a game on the calendar and say, we can get that one, maybe. We needed to come in here and make a statement and have no excuses, play the way we’re capable of playing,” Kreiner said.

“Now we can start that streak of momentum against Nipissing and Laurentian when they come in next weekend.”

Lindsay finished with 15, sharing the team lead with Elizabeth LeBlanc.