The York University Lions women's basketball team fell to their western Ontario counterpart the Lakehead Thunderwolves by a score of 81-73 on Friday evening (Feb.5) at The Tait Mackenzie Centre.

The post play of Gillian Lavoie and the deep range of both Cassandra Soulias and Jerika Baldin propelled the Thunderwolves to a commanding early lead. The second half was a tale of two equal teams as the Lions and 'wolves exchanged buckets up until late in the fourth quarter.

Jackie Koudys (Smithville, Ont.) was on attack mode from the opening buzzer, as she drove the lane with authority all night making multiple tough baskets. Koudys finished the night with seven total points.

The first half was controlled by the Thunderwolves as they built a comfortable margin on the scoreboard, the main contributor being Soulias who finished with a game high 17 points.
In the second half the Lions came out of the gates with bounce in their step, as they chipped away at the Thunderwolves lead. Lions guard Nina Guzina (Toronto) supplied a spark off of the bench as she hit three shots from beyond the arc in nine minutes of play.

The Lions cut the lead to seven at the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter thanks to a deep three from Taylor McAlpine (Huntsville, Ont.) which kick-started a late Lions comeback.  From that point on the Lions and Thunderwolves exchanged buckets until Soulias knocked down key free throws in the dying moments to put the game out of reach.

The Thunderwolves handed the Lions their 11^th loss on the season, as the Lions record now stands at 2-11. After Friday's win Lakehead improves to 5-7 and continues to climb in the OUA Central Division standings.

The Lions are back on the hardwood Saturday (Feb.6) when they welcome the 6-6 Guelph Gryphons to the Tait Mackenzie Centre, tip off is at 6pm.