KITCHENER, Ont. – Leashja Grant and the Lakehead Thunderwolves are a win away from assuring themselves a first-round playoff bye.
The No. 9 Wolves went on a 21-0 run in the second-half of Friday’s night’s road contest against the Laurier Golden Hawks and cruised to an easy 71-38 win.
The victory, combined with Windsor’s 79-74 loss to Guelph, means the Wolves, winners of five straight, need a single win in their final three games to guarantee they’ll finish no lower than second in the OUA West.
The top two teams in the conference earn quarterfinal byes and the right to host a conference semifinal on Feb. 23.
McMaster, who downed Algoma 86-51 on Friday night, holds down top spot at 18-3, a game ahead of the 17-4 Thunderwolves. Windsor is alone in third at 14-7.
Grant, the reigning OUA most valuable player, had 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. But she wasn’t the only Lakehead player contributing at the offensive end of the court.
Tiffany Reynolds scored 13 points and hauled in eight rebounds, while Nikki Ylagan buried three three-pointers and finished with 11 and Karissa Kajorinne, the team’s player of the month for January, collected 10.
Jill Condron had eight points to lead Laurier, who scored 20 in the first half and just 18 in the second.
The Wolves and Golden Hawks wrap up their weekend set on Saturday night.
