THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves kept Raia Guinto under lock and key for two quarters.
Unfortunately for the Wolves she escaped their grasp in the second half, scoring 21 of her game-high 25 points, including a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer at the end of the first overtime period, delivering a weekend sweep for the Winnipeg Wesmen after Saturday’s 67-64 come-from-behind triumph.
Lakehead led the game by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, but the Wesmen went on a 17-5 run to close out regulation and send the game to overtime.
Winnipeg’s Sarah Boitson tied the game with 19.7 to go in overtime, grabbing an offensive board to keep the play alive, LU leading 64-62 at the time.
The Wolves, whose shooting percentage plummeted in the fourth quarter to just 18.2 per cent, weren’t able to get the go-ahead bucket, setting the stage for Guinto, who averaged 13.1 points per game for Winnipeg last season.
Keira Chow, Lakehead’s rookie homegrown guard, the former Hammarskjold Vikings star who won a SSSAA senior girls’ championship with a 30-point effort in the 2022 finale, finished with a dozen points in her second game in a Thunderwolves uniform and said it was a let down to lose a game like that, but it’s also a learning experience.
“In the fourth quarter, I think we were just kind of scrambling. We were all really nervous because compared to yesterday, we were playing a lot better. We were just trying to keep the energy up. We kind of let (Guinto) get a little hot in the last quarter, which we were trying not to do,” Chow said.
“Overall, I think it was a lot better than yesterday and we improved on what we were working on to improve.”
Lakehead spread the scoring around in the first quarter, with eight different players contributing points, as they jumped out in front 16-12. Scoring was a little more concentrated in the second quarter, rookie Sidney Crawford keying the attack with five quick points early in the frame, a three-pointer upping LU’s lead to 23-16 at the time.
They’d hold on to a 30-26 lead when halftime rolled around.
Crawford opened the second half with another three-pointer, giving her eight points on the day, but the had no answer for Guinto, who scored five straight Winnipeg baskets to keep the game close. Winnipeg appeared to finish the third on a 7-0 run, but Lakehead’s Ally Burke snapped it at the buzzer, driving the lane for a buzzer-beating deuce.
Burke was initially called for a charge, but the on-court officials reversed their decision, giving Lakehead a 50-42 lead heading into the final quarter.
Chow hit back-to-back buckets to open the fourth, re-establishing a double-digit Thunderwolves advantage, but the Wesmen rolled off 11 straight points to not the match at 56 before Chow made on of two free throws to give the Wolves a 57-56 lead. Guinto buried a three in the final minute, but veteran Ally Reid, who spent three years at Laurentian before returning home to Thunder Bay, hit a bucket in the dying seconds to send the game to overtime.
“Honestly it was a better game than yesterday,” said the former Westgate star. “Yesterday wasn’t our best game. That’s not how we play. Even though we had a tough loss today, we showed that when our effort is there, we can keep in the games.”
Reid finished with 10 points off the bench.
Sophomore Kelly-Ann Coulombe had a double-double for Lakehead, Coulombe collecting 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Lakehead is next in action at the Thunderdome on Oct. 25 against Waterloo.
