THUNDER BAY – It wasn’t a pretty win and the third quarter is one the Lakehead Thunderwolves wouldn’t want to repeat anytime soon.
But when all was said and done on Friday night the home side made the most of their 2023-24 home opener, overcome ball-control and rebounding woes to outlast the visiting York Lions 61-53, earning the T-Wolves their first win in three outings this season.
Kirpa Brar, who missed most of last season battling the injury bug, was a stalwart in helping Lakehead snap an early-season, two-game losing streak, hitting five-of-10 shots from the field for a 15-point night, while hauling in half-a-dozen rebounds and dishing out an equal number of assists.
The Brampton, Ont. native came up big in the third, a quarter that saw seven lead changes as the Lions and Thunderwolves battled at both ends of the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse court, twice hitting buckets that gave LU the lead.
The second, a brilliant turnaround-jumper in the key, put Lakehead up 40-38 with about four minutes to go in the period.
The Lions fought back to tie the game moments later, but Ally Burke, who led all Thunderwolves with 17 points, put LU ahead for good with a three-pointer, then hit a pair of free throws as the third wound down, giving her side a 45-40 edge heading into the fourth.
“I was just confident and I was confident in my teammates. If I was to get stopped at the rim, I knew I’d have an open player. And my teammates were confident in me bringing up the ball as well,” Brar said.
Coach Hugo Boisvert, who earned his first regular season OUA win, said Brar had a huge effort against the Lions.
“She brings scoring. She’s got some skills to her game. She can put points on the board and today she got hot. I thought she hit some timely shots, big shots at the end of the clock. They weren’t necessarily the best shots, but shots we needed a basket,” Boisvert said.
“She had a few of those. I thought today she was much better handling pressure. When she was pressured, she was just aggressive and made plays. She had a great game.
The Wolves first win of 2023-24 came eight games faster than it did in 2022-23, when LU dropped its frist 10 regular-season games en route to a 3-19 campaign.
“It feels great, especially with the fans at home,” Brar said.
“They’re incredible, it feels very good.”
Lakehead took the initial lead on a Burke two-pointer, and didn’t relinquish it until early in the third, when York’s Bilan Khadar grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds before putting the ball up and in, giving the Lions a 31-29.
York never led by more than two points and only once in the fourth did they climb to within five, Lakehead stretching its led to as many as 12.
The Thunderwolves and Lions meet again on Saturday night. Tip off is the usual 6 p.m.
