Williams needs 13 points to set new OUA scoring mark; playoff scenario more complicated

The Lakehead Thunderwolves will have more than just playoff positioning on the line in Guelph this weekend.

Jylisa Williams needs just 13 points in her final two games to set a new OUA single-season scoring record. Western’s Jenny Vaughan was the first OUA player to top 500 points, scoring 506 in 2013-14, her final season with the Mustangs.

Williams, who tops the nation in scoring, has 493 points in 17 games, a 29-point average. Earlier this season she broke a 32-year-old record, scoring 50 points against the Toronto Varsity Blues.

The playoff scenario for the Thunderwolves women is a little more complicated.

Ryerson, McMaster and Lakehead hold down the third-to-fifth spots in the ratings percentage index, with fourth-place McMaster just 0.001 points ahead of the Thunderwolves.

A Ryerson win all but clinches third for the Rams, but there remains the possibility the Wolves and Marauders could finish in a dead heat.

Should that occur, traditional OUA tiebreakers would prevail, giving Lakehead the fourth place and a first-round bye.

Should the Wolves and McMaster, who place the lowly Algoma Thunderbirds in their finale, win out, the teams would finish with identical 15-4 records.

As it stands, there are 256 mathematical possibilities for the end-of-season OUA women’s rankings.

The OUA switched to RPI rankings this season.

The top three teams in each division make the postseason, but then teams are seeded for the playoffs based on their RPI score against other playoff teams.

The men’s team is currently sixth in the RPI rankings, and should remain in the top eight regardless of how they fare against the Gryphons. That would guarantee the Wolves a home game in the opening round of the playoffs. They could finish as high as fifth, should they beat Guelph twice and Windsor loses its final game.