Thunder Bay – SPORTS – Bridget O’Reilly and Katelyn Zen were on point Saturday night, leading the Lakehead University Thunderwolves to a 67-61 basketball win over the Carleton Ravens, their first of the regular season.
Lakehead was quick from the tip, racing out to a 24-10 lead after 10 minutes. The Ravens shook the rust off in the second quarter, closing within 4 at the half with Lakehead leading 32-28.
Rachel Webber ramped up her game from the night prior, scoring 10 points with 5 assists and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes of play.
Bridget O’Reilly hit five of her 11 three-point attempts, totalling 19 points with 3 rebounds.
Katelyn Zen provided her traditional presence on hustle plays, but found her shooting touch, hitting on 6-of-8 for 16 points in 23 minutes.
Heather Lindsay led the Ravens with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Late in the fourth quarter Lakehead stretched their lead to 57-49 on a three-point play by Zen. She followed that with a jumper, and got to the free throw line a few plays later to keep the lead intact, 62-58. Rachel Webber drove and dropped off a pass to Gillian Lavoie for a layup to put the ‘Wolves up 64-58.
While Abeer Farhat hit a three to bring the Ravens within three soon after, Bridget O’Reilly answered on the next offensive possession with a three pointer of her own with 4 seconds remaining in the game to seal it.
Coach Jon Breiner stated, “We competed hard and set the tone early. The second quarter was a struggle but overall we stayed the course and stuck to the game plan tonight. I am very proud of Gill Lavoie and her development. She is getting better and better every game. Bridget was huge from 3 and Zen played with confidence tonight. It was really nice to get Rachel back, she is the engine of this team and makes things happen.”
The women’s team continues their home stand next weekend against Nipissing and Laurentian.
