THUNDER BAY – Sports – The Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball team came up against a very tough Brock Badgers team on Friday night, losing 72-49. Brock is now 10-0 on the season, while Lakehead slips to 5-5. Coach Jon Kreiner stated, “It was a rough first 10 minutes for us and we were not able to bounce back. We lost our confidence early which took the energy out of us. Katie Ulakovic has come into the new year like a 5th year player, playing with confidence and she has been really taking care of the basketball. Rachael Bland, Emily Lerette and Katelyn Zen gave us great energy off the bench. We will need to get our grit and fight back if we are to rebound against a tough team like Brock.”
It was not to be for the T-wolves from the get-go, as the first quarter saw the Badgers fill it up with ease, out-scoring Lakehead 22-8 in the quarter. Although Lakehead would tighten up their defense for the remainder of the game, they could not make any inroads on the Badgers’ lead.
Outside shooting was non-existent for Lakehead on this evening, as they went 3-28 from behind the arc, with Katie Ulakovic hitting all three of them. She would finish with a team-high 15 points with 4 steals and no turnovers. Jessica deHaan was next for the T-Wolves with 8 points and 6 rebounds, while Ayse Kalkan had 6 points with 8 rebounds.
Nicole Rosenkranz was an unstoppable force for the Badgers, scoring 20 points (8-8 FT) with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. The 6’2 forward could not be matched by any one, or combination of Lakehead defenders that were sent at her, with Rosenkranz easily moving with or without the ball, in the open court and in the paint. Andrea Polischuk scored 16 with 11 rebounds, while Kayla Santilli had 14 and 5 boards.
Apart from the vast shooting discrepancy (Brock – 41.3%; Lakehead 27.3%), the ‘Wolves were competitive on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 41-37, and forced the Badgers into 20 turnovers, although committing 21 of their own. Brock was lights out form the free throw line, hitting 17 of 18 attempts, while LU hit on 10 of 12 throws.
The teams rematch tomorrow evening at 6pm.
Tomorrow’s game is the annual Think Pink: ‘Shoot for the Cure’ game, which will feature fundraising activities and promotions benefitting the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation’s Northern Cancer Fund. Fans are encouraged to wear pink, or better yet, buy a pink t-shirt at the game tomorrow.
Webcast will be available via SSN Canada. Audio broadcast available via CILU 102.7 FM, luradio.ca
