McKenna’s big night clinches Wolves’ win over Toronto

THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Point guard Tasia McKenna opened with two three-pointers and never looked back as her 31 points were the difference in the Lakehead Thunderwolves women's basketball team's narrow 69-65 win over the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues, Thursday night at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse in Thunder Bay, Ont. With the win - head coach Jon Kreiner's first against Toronto - the Wolves improve to 5-3 in conference play and are tied with McMaster for fourth place in the OUA West Division heading into the holiday break. Toronto drops to 4-6 on the year.

While McKenna's scoring, which included a 6-of-12 performance from beyond the arc, was impressive, equally important was her game management, as the senior had zero turnovers with six assists. The Timberlea, N.S. native picked a good night to explode offensively, as her team struggled shooting the basketball, knocking down just 32 percent of their shots, and turned it over 24 times.

Shannon Vellinga added eight points with six rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, while Lindsay Druery had seven points and grabbed 10 boards. Freshman point guard Corina Bruni's vast potential was on display in her 27 minutes of playing time as the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. native had nine assists, four steals and six rebounds while applying excellent defensive pressure against Toronto's guards.

Nicki Schutz was a workhouse for the Varsity Blues as she chalked up a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds. Joanna Medri added 11 points and eight rebounds with Megan Stoncius scoring 10 points.

After dropping their overtime games in the first half of the season, the Wolves put up a gutsy second half effort to earn the win. The hosts trailed 36-33 at the half, but won each of the next two quarters to seal the win.

Things got interesting with 4.5 seconds left and the Pack up 67-63 as Medri attempted a desperation heave from the three-point line and was fouled by Wolves' guard Lisa Styles. The Toronto guard missed the first free throw, however, and essentially closed the door on any thoughts of a Blues comeback. After Medri hit the next two free throws, Lakehead's McKenna was fouled and iced the game with a pair from the charity stripe. 

"It was a great way to end off 2009 with my first win against U of T," said coach Kreiner. "I thought our backcourt played tremendously tonight. Both Tasia and Corina played well and created great defensive pressure on the Toronto guards. Combined they had 15 assists to three turnovers and made great decisions throughout the game."

"Our post players did a tremendous job on Nicki Schutz, limiting her to 14 points. We struggled a bit on the offensive end and Tasia really had to step up for us. She has proven so far this year that she is one of the top players not only in the conference but in the country."

Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves