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No. 9 Lakehead drops No. 5 Laurier in key OUA match-up

Early in the first quarter on Saturday night, Jylisa Williams crashed through a trio of Laurier Golden Hawks defenders, willed the ball into the basket and wildly pumped her fists. “Let’s go,” she screamed to her teammates.
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Jylisa Williams (left) runs the court in the first quarter Saturday night against the Laurier Golden Hawks at the Thunderdome. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

Early in the first quarter on Saturday night, Jylisa Williams crashed through a trio of Laurier Golden Hawks defenders, willed the ball into the basket and wildly pumped her fists.

“Let’s go,” she screamed to her teammates.

Go they did.

And it was Williams leading the way with a monster 36-point, 16-rebound performance, the No. 9 Lakehead Thunderwolves upsetting No. 5 Laurier 73-59 at the Thunderdrome in the Wolves biggest win to date of the OUA women’s basketball campaign.

There’s no doubt how much Williams and company wanted the win.

“More than anything,” the Atlanta native said.

“That set the tone for us for the rest of the season. We definitely came out with everything we had because we had to prove to everybody that we could beat a top five team.”

The win helped the Wolves (11-3) maintain a half-game lead over McMaster in the OUA Central and should help them improve in the ratings performance index, the determining factor when the 12 playoff teams are seeded.

More importantly, it sent a message to the rest of the country, Williams said.

“It’s proving something we already know, proving that we can compete with the best. When we come to play I feel that we can beat almost anybody,” she said.

Corina Bruni, who has taken the point in the backcourt, freeing Williams to focus on her offensive game, said they wanted the win so badly it hurt.

“Just to prove to ourselves and to everyone else who comes out and everyone else in the league that we do deserve a little respect. We have worked so hard to get where we are. We’re such a different team than we were at the beginning of the year until now,” said Bruni, a defensive force who had four steals and added six assists in the win, Lakehead’s seventh straight.

“We know that it’s been coming together, but we needed to solidify it with this win, so it means a lot.”

The Thunderwolves were in control from start to finish against the Golden Hawks, the only team to defeat No. 1 Windsor this season, a squad that topped the RPI standings heading into weekend play.

Lakehead won all four quarters, holding Laurier to fewer than 15 in each of the final three.

“When you look at it, we didn’t blow out any quarter. We just were consistent,” said Thunderwolves coach Jon Kreiner.
“And I thought when we were calm and relaxed on offense, good things happened.”

Despite playing the night before, the Wolves hustled from one end of the court to the other for a full 40 minutes, whether it was Williams bashing Laurier shot attempts out of bounds, Katie Ulakovic racing like a gazelle down the hardwood to break up an easy Laurier basket or Bruni getting in the face of the opposition, throwing off their game.

“I told the girls that nothing in life is given for free, you’ve got to earn it. And they came out here with heart, determination and class and really had each other’s back … All the things we needed to happen, happened tonight.”

Whitney Ellenor topped the Golden Hawks with 14 points, with Nicole Morrison adding 13. Katelyn Andrea was the only other Lakehead player in double digits, finishing with 10.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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