Weekend sweep puts Lakehead in top spot in OUA Central

And just like that the Lakehead Thunderwolves are in first place.

But the Brock Badgers made them work for it Saturday night at the Thunderdome, at least for 20 minutes.

The Wolves women pulled away in the third, thanks in part to Katelyn Andrea, who scored eight in the decisive quarter, as the LU basketball squad improved to 6-3 with a 75-58 triumph.

The second-year Andrea, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, said the team was anything but satisfied emerging from the halftime break deadlocked at 30 points apiece with the basement-dwelling Badgers (3-6).

“We’ve been talking about our defence since Christmas and our defence finally stepped up for us. I think that was the big difference in the third quarter,” Andrea said.

Lakehead outscored Brock 21-7 in the third and never looked back.

“We made a couple of adjustments defensively. When the best-shooting team in the conference shoots 3-for-17 from three, you know you’ve done something right. We just really locked down and really took Janalyn Yumol out of the game,” coach Jon Kreiner said.

Yumol could only manage five points on the night, the Badgers instead led offensively by Melissa Tatti’s 18.

Vaulting into top spot in the OUA Central, half a game up on McMaster (6-4) and Guelph (5-3) is a pretty special feeling, said Andrea, a St. Ignatius High School grad. 

“It’s really exciting to be in first place right now, but obviously we have to play the rest of our games tough and hopefully come out on top at the end,” Andrea said.

Teammate Katelyn Zen said the Wolves have paid their dues to this point.

“It feels like it was a long time coming. We’ve been working very hard this season so it’s exciting to actually be up there,” she said, after her eight-rebound performance.

The star of the show, not surprisingly, was Atlanta import Jylisa Williams, who topped her season average, collecting 31 points, including 11 in the first and fourth quarters apiece.

Fellow American Essa Jacobsen was also strong offensively scoring 16 points, a fact not lost on Kreiner, hoping for big things from the Grand Marais native, playing just her second game after minor knee surgery.

“She may not be our biggest post size-wise, but she’s got a huge heart. She’s solid and she can finish inside. That’s going to create openings for players to knock down shots,” Kreiner said.

Katie Ulakovic had a second straight strong night for Lakehead, scoring seven points in the fourth, en route to a 10-point game.

“We call her the finisher,” Kreiner said.

The Wolves hit the road for a key test in the nation’s capital next weekend, taking on Ottawa and Carleton.