Saying goodbye is never easy.
But when you leave on a winning note, it helps dry the tears a little quicker.
For Jylisa Williams, Katie Ulakovic and Corina Bruni, the heart and soul of the resurgent Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball season, Saturday marked their final OUA regular-season home game at the Thunderdome.
Williams was up to her usual tricks, dropping 28 to lead the Wolves to the 71-45 triumph over the visiting Western Mustangs. She also added 10 boards for a double-double. Oh yeah, and three steals, three assists and two blocked shots.
Try as she might, Ulakovic, the first player to work her way through the Thunderwolves junior program and graduate after five years at Lakehead, couldn`t find her range, a rare night the Thunder Bay native was held off the score sheet.
Bruni, a dynamo on the backcourt, didn’t dress, resting her injured right ankle in hopes of returning for next week’s crucial season-finale set in Guelph.
It was an emotional night, said Williams, whose mother made the journey from Atlanta and sang the national anthem before the contest|
“It was a bittersweet moment, a moment I’ve been dreading all year, but it’s here. But like I told my teammates, we’re not done. We have a playoff game, hopefully two more in this gym,” Williams said.
“Really I didn’t know how I was going to react when the moment came. When it finally came, I was a ball of emotion and my mom started crying and she triggered a few tears for me. It almost makes me speechless, just the support from the community.”
Ulakovic, who’s probably spent more time in the Thunderdome than any of her teammates, said it was an awesome feeling.
“It was a pleasure to play for this team for five years and I’m excited that it’s not over quite yet,” Ulakovic said.
“Although we honoured our seniors tonight, I know we’ll still have a few games left at least and I’m really excited for that.”
Not to be lost in the midst of the pomp and ceremony was the importance of getting the win to keep pace with McMaster in the race to stay in the top four in the ratings percentage index and the right to a first-round bye and to host a second-round playoff game.
“This win was really, really important to us and then this coming weekend against Guelph is even more important, just to get good momentum heading into playoffs and to secure us a good spot for playoffs,” she said, not worried about not scoring.
“I tried and my teammates were so supportive”
Coach Jon Kreiner, whose team improved to 13-4, said he’s not focusing on the standings, just trying to will his team to another couple of victories.
The rest will take care of itself, Kreiner said.
“It’s hard to figure out the RPI, so I stopped,” he said, laughing.
“All we can do is take care of business and come out and win basketball games. I’ll give Western full credit tonight. They made it really tough on us. We struggled to score. Tonight was a night where we had to create a little bit of offence out of our defence.”
Victoria Heine, who fouled out in the fourth quarter, led the Mustangs with 13 points. Essa Jacobsen had 15 points for Lakehead, the only other player to hit double figures.
Beyond the arc: Despite their win the Thunderwolves (.549) slipped to fifth in the RPI rankings behind Laurier (.554) and McMaster (.551). They began the week in third. The top four teams earn first-round byes and the right to host a second-round playoff game.
