THUNDER BAY – Intensity wasn't an issue for the Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team in their return to OUA action against the Lakehead Thunderwolves. But execution, particularly in the decisive fourth quarter, was. The Gryphons were up for the feisty game in frigid Thunder Bay but ultimately suffered a tight 70-68 loss to the Thunderwolves Friday night at C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse. 

Head coach Mark Walton had no issue with the effort. But the offence stalled late and it cost the Gryphons a chance to get above the .500 mark on the season.

"The shots were not falling at all," Walton said about his players' struggles in the fourth quarter. "It's a lack of poise from a young team."
 
Rookie guard Burke Bechard led all Gryphons with 15 points despite playing ill, while Ashley Wheeler added 14 points and tied Quincy Sickles-Jarvis for a team-high 9 rebounds. Haley Belyk chipped in 12 points, with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in 40 minutes of playing time.
 
Wheeler gave Guelph a chance after a layup with just over six seconds remaining but Lakehead's second inbounds attempt went to the towering first-year standout Leashja Grant, who ripped the ball out of the air and dribbled away from the swarming Gryphons to run the clock out.
 
Nikki Ylagan scored 19 points for Lakehead, while Grant, a 6-2 forward, had game-highs of 22 points and 15 boards. Guelph got their first look at the imposing post player, who entered 2018 leading the OUA in both scoring (21.5 ppg) and rebounds (13.3 rpg). She joined the Thunderwolves this season after a year as a starter at NCAA Division 1 program Texas Tech and two seasons at junior college Trinity Valley in Athens, Texas. Grant took over in the second half and scored three consecutive baskets down the stretch to help Lakehead pull away.

"I thought we did a great job on her in the first half," Walton said. "Then we stopped guarding her for some reason."
 
Guelph had a hard time executing offensively in the fourth quarter and the hosts, thanks in part to a few key offensive rebounds, built their biggest lead late in the game. Rachel Webber and Lily Gruber-Schulz made back-to-back layups to stretch the Lakehead lead to 65-58 with under four minutes remaining on the clock.
 
The Gryphons trimmed it to three points at 67-64 on a Bechard layup but the Thunderwolves had a clutch three-pointer from Jerika Baldin with 50 seconds left to get it back to six.
 
The visitors hit just 13 of 35 shots in the second half, including 0-for-3 for three-point range, while Lakehead went 3-for-6 beyond the arc (6-for-15 on the night) and shot almost 52 per cent from the floor after the halftime break.
 
Guelph came out in the first quarter trying to shake the rust off from the holiday with sheer volume. The Gryphons weren't shy offensively en route to 23 first-quarter points. They hit the glass early and moved the ball well to create looks, which helped them build a 37-33 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play, shooting almost 40 per cent from the floor despite hitting just 3 of 12 attempts from long range.
 
Lakehead relied heavily on the duo of Grant and Ylagan from the get go. The two combined for 24 of the team's 33 first-half points.

"We'll have to execute better," Walton said of tomorrow's rematch in the back end of its weekend doubleheader. "We need to attack her (Grant) and make her guard people. When we did that tonight, she got in some foul trouble."

Saturday's tip is at 6 pm.