SUDBURY, Ont. - Opening up their exhibition schedule this past weekend at the Laurentian Tournament, Laurier's women's basketball team came away with a pair of resounding victories in Sudbury. 

In what was also a homecoming weekend for Sudbury-native Dylann Mazzuchin as well as Laurier's manager of women's basketball operations Paul Falco, who played five years at Laurentian, the Golden Hawks won its first game on Friday night against the host Voyageurs in commanding fashion, 53-39.

Last season's team MVP Miranda Campbell led the charge, contributing a team-high 13 points, six rebounds, and seven steals. Cassidy Hirtle provided an offensive spark, tallying 11 points and two assists, while Brittyn Graves also finished in double-digits with 10 points.

Despite trailing 15-10 after the first quarter, the Golden Hawks stormed back by outscoring Laurentian 34-19 in the following two frames to right the ship.

Claudia Pellerin recorded a 14 point, 11 rebound double-double for the hosts but, despite that, Laurier's defense limited their opponents' to just 27% shooting from the field. They also created 32 Voyageurs turnovers, which led to the Golden Hawks outscoring Laurentian 23-8 on those opportunities.

In Laurier's second game of the tournament on Saturday afternoon, it was the McGill Martlets who came away with a 57-40 win. 

The Martlets built a substantial 18-6 lead in the first quarter, which set the tone early. 

Laurier provided some solid push-back in the second, outscoring McGill by two to trail 33-23 at the halftime break. 

Campbell, once again, led all Golden Hawk scorers with 10 points and five rebounds while Hirtle and Kate White combined for 13 points and seven rebounds. Graves also recorded a team-high eight rebounds and five steals.

Despite a valiant effort by Laurier, McGill's lead proved insurmountable as the Golden Hawks shot just 19% from the field in the second half.

Game three on Sunday saw the purple and gold play its best game of the tournament in a 77-60 win over the TMU Bold. 

White provided an outstanding performance, notching an impressive 21 point, 10 rebound double-double. Graves followed closely behind, adding 18 points and showcasing accuracy from field by shooting 50%.

Laurier also displayed some solid ball distribution, with 14 assists on the afternoon.

Despite TMU mounting a slight comeback in the third quarter, Laurier owned the other three to secure the victory.

In addition to leaving the Nickel City with a 2-1 record, Graves, a second-year kinesiology and physical education major from Newmarket, Ont., was also named a tournament all-star. Over the three games, Graves averaged 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 29 minutes played. 

Laurier's manager of women's basketball operations and head coach Paul Falco described the experience as a very good weekend where "we definitely showed improvement, with the third game on Sunday being our best overall performance."

He also described how these preseason games "are very important in figuring out where our strengths and weaknesses are at this point in the season, so we can make adjustments in practice.

"I was pleased with the effort from each player and I like the chemistry that is developing with this group, on and off the court."

The Golden Hawks will now travel to St. John's, Newfoundland to compete in the Memorial Sea-Hawks Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. 

Laurier will tip-off game 1 against UBC at 3:30 pm EST on Saturday October 7. They will then play the host Sea-Hawks on back-to-back days; Sunday at 2:30 pm EST and Monday at 12:30 pm EST.