WATERLOO, Ont. – The Golden Hawks got back in the win column in a big way on Saturday night, defeating the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves 64-37 in the annual Shoot for the Cure game at the Laurier AC Gym.

The Golden Hawks controlled the game from the get-go, never trailing in the initial 10 minutes of play and up by as much as five points with just over four to play and five different players making the stat sheet, led by Alexa Sawchuk's five points. 

An 8-4 run by the Thunderwolves saw things tied up at 19 apiece though heading into the second.

The second quarter was an offensive struggle for both teams as they each shot less than 20% from the field and only combined for 17 points. Miranda Campbell led the Golden Hawks in the frame with four, while Kate White and Janet Enge managed to chip in three a piece. 

Lakehead's Sara Azzolini put three points on the board for her team, on their lone make from beyond the arc.

The third quarter was also low-scoring for both teams, with an identical combined point total, but the Golden Hawks seriously pulled away with a solid defensive effort that saw Lakehead make just two baskets in the entire quarter.

White and Cassidy Hirtle led the team offensively, each posting four points. Hirtle, who would eventually finish with ten points, continued her climb up the Golden Hawks women's basketball record books, having recently climbed to #8 in total career points.

The Golden Hawks' defensive effort allowed the team to completely pull away come the fourth quarter, shutting down Lakehead's shooters and forcing them to go 0 for 12 from the field as a result.

They also had their best offensive quarter, with nine different scorers contributing, including second-year Brittyn Graves leading the team with six points in her five minutes of play. She finished with ten points to share the team-high total with Hirtle.

In the end, the Golden Hawks held the Thunderwolves to just 18 points combined over the final three quarters.

It was Laurier's fourth win in the past five match-ups against the Thunderwolves and improved their record to 8-6, which sees them tied with Western for fourth place in the OUA West division. 

Lakehead dropped to 4-12 on the year.

After the game, Laurier's head coach and manager of women's basketball operations Paul Falco explained how there was some trouble shutting down the Thunderwolves in the first quarter due to some unique set plays but "once we got comfortable communicating through that and playing better defence, then we started to gradually pull away." 

When asked about Hirtle's recent accomplishment of climbing the top 10 of the program's all-time scorers heading into Saturday's game, Falco commented how "she's day in and day out one of our hardest workers."

"It doesn't surprise me that she's having that kind of success and she's getting better every month and every week," he said.

Alum Kerri Jilesen, who's serving as one of the team's assistant coaches this season, is next on the list and just 48 points ahead in seventh.

All proceeds from ticket sales and collected donations during Saturday's game went directly to the team's fundraising efforts for the Terry Fox Foundation, which has already surpassed its initial goal of $1,000.

Fans can still contribute to the campaign with an online donation. 

 
Up Next

The Golden Hawks take flight this coming weekend as they hit the road for a challenging doubleheader in the nation's capital. 

Laurier takes on the #2-ranked Carleton Ravens (14-1) on Friday at 6 pm and #10 Ottawa (13-2) on Saturday at 2 pm.

Stream the games live on OUA.tv or follow along on X at @WLUAthletics for live updates.