THUNDER BAY – For three quarters, the Lakehead Thunderwolves looked like they might be able to pull off the upset of the OUA women’s basketball season.
The two-win T-Wolves were in a one-possession game with the No. 10-ranked Toronto Metropolitan University Bold, down just four points and playing some of the best basketball of the Hugo Boisvert era.
The fourth quarter, however, didn’t go as planned.
The Bold went on a 20-2 run in the final frame and put the scare to rest, outscoring Lakehead 24-9 in the fourth to pull out a 71-52 triumph and completed the weekend sweep at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse.
“Honestly, we’re getting better playing as a team,” said rookie forward Keira Chow, who tied Ally Burke for the team lead with a season-high 12 points, adding three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes of court time.
“I think for us, we have to play like we play in practice. We’ve all got to play with more confidence. That’s what we did for the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter we just had a lapse and we couldn’t get back up, and that’s what we need to work on.”
It took TMU just over two minutes in the fourth to stretch their lead from four to 10, five different players putting up points.
Then, after Eva Guilera cut the Bold lead to 58-45 midway through the period, starter Alex Pino drained back-to-back threes, followed by a Jayme Foreman trey that pushed the TMU advantage to 22, up 67-45.
There was just no way to recover for the Thunderwolves at that point.
“Unfortunately, the game is four quarters long. We played them well for three. I’m just disappointed because we don’t get the recognition for what we put out today, in terms of the result. You’re looking at it and basically, it’s the same result as yesterday, but it’s not, really,” Boisvert said.
The Thunderwolves didn’t give an inch in the opening quarter and it was Burke, the team’s savvy veteran guard, who was the difference.
The Timmins native hit a pair of free throws with 1:35 to go in the period to tie the game 17-17, then banked in a three-pointer in the final minute to give LU a 20-17 lead after 10 minutes.
Lakehead took the lead again three minutes into the second, Guilera spinning in the paint and scooping the ball into the net for a 23-21 LU lead.
Less than two minutes later foreman hit a bucket that gave TMU a 25-23 edge and they never trailed again, taking a 33-28 halftime lead.
A Chow three-pointer closed the gap to two three minutes into the third, and one possession later she added a two-point basket, the T-Wolves trailing 37-35.
But Foreman, calm, cool and collected, nailed back-to-back threes and the TMU lead reached 10 again.
Chow said she felt energized on the court, which led to confident play. She finished with a game-high 19.
“I think that’s the key for all of us. I felt like I was playing a bit more like myself this game, so that’s the main key.”
The loss dropped the T-Wolves to 2-12 on the season.
They’ll travel to southern Ontario next weekend for a pair of games against York (4-10). TMU, who lead the OUA Central, improved to 10-4.
Court shots: The T-Wolves wore special pink uniforms and raised money in support of breast cancer research.
