On Saturday, October 26th, the Algoma Thunderbirds women and men’s basketball programs kicked off their 2024 – 2025 OUA basketball season with high hopes, but faced a tough challenge as they battled the Lakehead Thunderwolves. Both the women’s and men’s teams fought valiantly on the court, showcasing their determination and skill, but ultimately fell short in their opening matchups. Despite the losses, the Thunderbirds demonstrated flashes of promise, laying a foundation for growth as they look to regroup and build momentum for the rest of the season.
Women
Algoma Thunderbirds (42) @ (66) Lakehead Thunderwolves
Algoma Thunderbirds
Kalia Fong – 13pts
Nadia Singh – 11pts
Sadie Grawbarger – 7pts
Lakehead Thunderwolves
Eva Guilera Salat – 18pts
Allison Read – 8pts
Keria Chow – 7pts
Men
Algoma Thunderbirds (84) @ (102) Lakehead Thunderwolves
Algoma Thunderbirds
Johan Germain 30pts
Kal-El Alejo 12 pts
Kur Mayoum 7pts
Jean-Michael Senatus 7 pts
Lakehead Thunderwolves
Nathan Bilamu 21pts
Harold Santacruz 21pts
Keylian Coulibaly 16pts
Chris Sagl 15pts
Thunderbird women’s coach Katie Hamilton told Saultsports that “I thought we executed our game plan and scout fairly well this weekend versus Lakehead and felt our girls really brought a lot of effort, energy and toughness to the contest. Unfortunately, we can’t shoot 12 percent from three and 36 percent from the three point line and expect to win. We really felt like we got open looks at the rim, and open shots from the perimeter regularly through the flow of our offense. So our primary area of hopeful improvement moving forward is knocking those open looks down. If we do that, we feel like we can compete with anyone, but those numbers need to improve to do so.”
“We faced a tough Lakehead team on the road. Right now we aren’t sharp on the defensive end. We can’t allow teams to go on big runs because of our defensive mistakes. We will continue to work this week and prepare for the weekend to come,” added men’s coach, Ryan Vetrie.
The Thunderbirds women and men’s basketball programs will now be back on the road over the Saturday, November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd when they face the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold on November 2nd followed by the University of Toronto Blues on November 3rd in OUA action.
