The No. 8 Lancer women's basketball team advanced to the OUA semi-finals for the eleventh straight year with a 66-54 win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves Saturday night at the St. Denis Centre.
 
GAME STATS
Windsor was paced by Olivia Osamusali who scored 17 points for the Blue and Gold, while Lakehead's Leashja Grant led all scorers with 18 points on the night.
 
Grant also recorded a double-double, pairing her 18 points with 14 boards. The Lancers were led on the glass by Emily Prevost and Kaylee Anagnostopoulos who each had seven rebounds.
 
The size of the Lancers gave the Thunderwolves problems as they were outrebounded 34-23 and had four shots blocked by the Lancers.
 
GAME FLOW
The Lancers came out of the gate sluggishly on the defensive end to open things up. With the offense hitting on almost 47 per cent of their looks from the field there was no reason the first quarter should've been close, however, thanks to a hot Lakehead squad that shot an equally impressive 43 per cent from the field in the first quarter.
 
The Thunderwolves were able to play their way to a lead after one, 18-17. The Lancers locked things down a little more, knocking Lakehead's percentage to under 40. Jordan Gutt spearheaded Windsor's defensive effort with two blocks in the second quarter alone as the Lancers went into the break up 39-31.
 
In the third quarter the Thunderwolves took it to the Lancers, cutting their lead in half with a 45 per cent performance from the field. The Windsor offense disappeared in the third half as well as the failed to even attempt a three pointer, a usual stalwart of the Lancers attack. Making matters worse for the Lancers was their 21 per cent shooting mark from the field in the third frame as they struggled to keep separation between themselves and the Thunderwolves.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Lancers got their shot back as they began to re-open the gap from the Thunderwolves. Led by Osamusali the Lancers were able to score when it mattered as they advanced past the Thunderwolves, 66-54.
 
UP NEXT
Windsor will travel to the nation's capital to take on the Carleton Ravens in the OUA semi-finals on Wednesday February 28, 2018. Stay tuned to www.goLancers.ca for game time information.