THUNDER BAY — A year ago, Kirpa Brar and Paula Lopez could only watch from the sidelines, injuries curtailing their chance to contribute on court for the Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball team.
Fast forward 12 months and both players have become integral parts of rookie coach Hugo Boisvert’s rebuild.
Brar, named the team’s athlete of the month for November, has provided starter-level production — and then some — coming off the bench, averaging 11.2 points per game, 26th best in all of Ontario University Athletics. She’s also dished out 34 assists in 10 appearances, the sixth-most in the league.
Lopez, who hails from Zaragoza, Spain, arrived at Lakehead in 2021, but wasn’t able to contribute until this season, as she continued to work her way back from the injury list.
The 5-foot-8 scoring guard is averaging 4.5 points a night and is still a work in progress, but has the confidence of Boisvert and her teammates – not to mention a place in the T-Wolves starting five.
Outside of Ally Burke, the fourth-leading scorer in the OUA at the Christmas break, no players has been as integral to the success of the Thunderwolves in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign, which sees the team sitting at 3-7 with the toughest part of their schedule behind them.
Four times Brar has hit double-digit points, including a pair of 19-point efforts. The Thunderwolves are 3-1 in games when she does top 10 points, and 0-6 when she doesn’t.
She’s a natural coming off the bench, she said.
“I’ve played that role since even before coming to Lakehead. I was always the person coming off the bench. If energy was needed, I gave it, so it’s nothing new,” Brar said.
Having a player like Brar to come off the bench is luxury, Boisvert said.
“She just takes a load off of some of our scorers’ shoulders,” he said. “When she’s on, and she’s playing confident out there – which she’s starting more and more to play with confidence – she’s been huge. It’s good to have her off the bench right now off the bench, giving us that spark and that lift. But down the stretch, she’s also there to finish off games.”
Lopez, who scored a season-high nine points in the regular-season opener against Toronto Metropolitan, said it was tough not being able to play the past two years.
“I’m really happy to be back,” Lopez said. “I’m hopeful I’m going to be able to get to the level I hope to be at.
“You always want more, but I’m honestly happy with the team and how I’m doing.” ‘
Boisvert said Lopez has shown the ability to adapt in her rookie season, which is important on a team like the T-Wolves, that’s not necessarily focused on results, but still in the thick of the playoff hunt in the OUA Central, tied for the 12th and final playoff spot.
“She’s adapting to a new system and new roles and positions. She’s being asked to play some roles now that are maybe a little bit outside of her comfort zone. That’s why she’s got to find her marks there,” Boisvert said. “But she’s been vital to us, just from a locker-room perspective.
“She’s an outstanding leader, she’s an outstanding teammate to be around and she’s contributing on both sides.”
Lakehead returns to action at home on Jan. 5 against Laurentian (3-7) and welcomes Nipissing to the Thunderdome the following night.
