THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball team is starting the season with plenty of question marks.
First and foremost, little is being said about the coaching situation.
Jon Kreiner, who has held the reins since the start of the 2003-04 season, was not with the team this weekend and his name has disappeared from the roster.
University brass have twice issued “No comment” statements when asked about the situation.
It leaves Dave McCallum, a long-time Thunderwolves assistant, in charge, dealing with injuries to key starters like all-star guard Tiffany Reynolds, Paula Lopez and Ally Burke, with the OUA regular season fast approaching.
He might have found some hope on Saturday night, despite the outcome, a 58-53 loss to the visiting Brandon Bobcats, a game the Thunderwolves could have easily won with a little more composure down the stretch.
But young teams, and a young lineup, are going to make mistakes, and as far as errors go, Saturday night was a little sloppy at times, but there were plenty of positives.
Start with rookie wing Sara Azzolini.
The Hammarskjold High School graduate came out of nowhere in Saturday’s rematch against the Bobcats, keying a 14-0 run in the third quarter that saw the T-Wolves take an eight-point lead late in the period.
Azzolini had eight of her team-high 18 points during the quarter.
“I was feeling it,” the freshman said. “The energy of the crowd and knowing my friends and family were all watching me was really good support. I just knew I had to hit it.”
She wasn’t alone in her break-out.
Second-year guard Emily Pokrant came off the bench to score eight points, six in the third, giving the Thunderwolves a chance against a Bobcats team that went 0-16 last season, but beat LU 77-51 on Friday night in non-conference play.
With so many key players on the sidelines, Pokrant said she’s happy to be tasked to help the team more than she might be with a full lineup in place.
“It can be a lot of pressure, and definitely the anxiety gets to me a lot of times, but I think a lot of athletes deal with it. At the end of the day, we find ways to push through it and it’s a lot easier when you have a team around you that is supportive and there for you no matter what.”
Thirty of LU’s 53 points came from the bench too.
“I think everybody’s ready to step up when they have to and wants to play. As a team, we aren’t just a one player goes off and scores everything. I think that we’re at our best when we’re working together, when we’re moving the ball,” Pokrant said.
The Bobcats took control of the game in the first, a 9-0 run closing out a 19-10 first quarter. LU closed the gap to six at the half, after cutting the lead to three before Faith Clearsky hit a late trey to round out the scoring in the opening half.
Brandon led by as many as nine in the third before Azzolini buried a trey to kick off the Thunderwolves 14-0 run, LU taking a 41-35 lead into the fourth.
Try as they might, they couldn’t hold on.
After Brandon tied the game on a Josie Grift bucket, the teams traded the lead five times, branding’s Chelsea Misskey giving the Bobcats the lead for good with less than a minute to play. Alexia Giroux had a shot to tie the game in the dying seconds, but her three-pointer came up short.
