SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - The Golden Hawks controlled the tempo from the opening minutes and never looked back, cruising to a season-opening 60–32 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday night at the George Leach Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.

The victory was the first for Laurier's new manager of women's basketball operations and head coach, Megan Reid.

The Hawks' win was also highlighted by a commanding performance on the glass from forward Keira Aikman, who pulled down 17 rebounds, tying the program's single-game record set initially by Whitney Ellenor in November 2014 against TMU (then Ryerson) and duplicated by Renata Adamczyk in 2018 against Ottawa.

Laurier took control early, leading 15–8 after the first quarter before pulling away with a dominant 21–5 second frame to hold a 36–13 advantage at halftime.

The Hawks extended their lead to as much as 36 points in the third quarter and cruised the rest of the way.

Aikman led the way with a monster double-double, posting 10 points to go with the double-digit rebounds total. 

Guard Maya Fuerth added 11 points off the bench, while Isabella Cotton chipped in 10 points and five boards.

Martina Errazo contributed seven points, eight rebounds and six steals in a strong two-way performance.

As a team, the Golden Hawks shot just 26.5 per cent from the field (22-of-83) and hit seven three-pointers. They dominated the glass though with 58 rebounds and took advantage of strong defensive play, scoring 20 points off Algoma's 22 turnovers.
 

Up Next:

The Golden Hawks (1-0) finish their back-to-back against the Thunderwolves (0-1) on Saturday afternoon starting at 2 pm. All the action will be streamed live on OUA.tv