The No. 9 Lancer women's basketball team had an incredibly tight match up Friday night against the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves. The Blue & Gold were able to make the proper adjustments throughout the game to come away with a 67-56 victory at the St. Denis Centre.  
 
The Lancers hit the hardwood looking to keep pace in a tight OUA West division as they are just one game behind the division leading McMaster Marauders. Heading into the game, Lakehead's 12-4 record matched Windsor's as both squads were tied for second place in the OUA west. Now, Windsor is one game up on the Thunderwolves, heading into game two of the weekend series.
 
GAME STATS
Emily Prevost led all scorers on the night, pouring in 23 points in the Lancer win. Lakehead was led by Jerika Baldin who scored 12 points for the Thunderwolves.
 
Prevost also notched a double-double with 11 boards for the Blue & Gold. Lakehead's Leashja Grant also recorded a double-double, rebounding 12 shots while scoring 11 points.
 
The Thunderwolves had four players score in double digits, with Lily Gruber-Schulz, Jerika Baldin, Leashja Grant and Nikki Ylagan scoring at least 11 points.
 
Aside from Prevost only Carly Steer scored in double digits for the Lancers, netting 17 points.
 
GAME FLOW
The Lancers lead throughout most of the first quarter, riding Emily Prevost as she put up seven points in the first quarter to push Windsor out to a an early 18-13 lead. The Thunderwolves however, just as desperate for that second spot in the OUA West was not going away easy, constantly keeping the score within striking distance.  The Thunderwolves' Jerika Baldin led the way for Lakehead scoring 10 points in the first half. In a highly competitive first half it was the Blue and Gold that found themselves up after the dust had settled; taking a 37-33 halftime lead into the locker room.
 
In the second half the Lancers turned to fourth year guard Carly Steer. After going through somewhat of a shooting slump in recent games, Steer made her presence felt in the third frame as she hit three straight shots from beyond the arc. Windsor paired their strong offensive play with some great defense, forcing the Thunderwolves to a 30 per cent shooting performance in the third quarter as the Lancers went into the final frame up 54-42. The Thunderwolves could not find an adjustment that worked in the second half as the game wore on and the Lancers were able to come out on top, 67-56.
 
UP NEXT
Windsor welcomes the Thunderwolves back to the St. Denis Centre for the second part of the basketball doubleheader weekend. The game tips off at 6:00pm. Patrons are encouraged to wear pink or buy a t-shirt for $10 in honour of the Lancers 11th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day. All proceeds from the event go to breast cancer research.