THUNDER BAY – It's a long trek from Guelph to Thunder Bay. Especially in January. And the Guelph Gryphons women's basketball team will leave the remote northern city lamenting missed opportunities. The Gryphons suffered their second consecutive defeat in a tight game this weekend, falling 64-62 to the Lakehead Thunderwolves Saturday night.
 
Just like Friday night, Guelph lost by a bucket in a contest they could have easily won.
 
The Gryphons had their shot to at least get it to overtime. Lakehead's star forward Leashja Grant sunk two free throws with 22 seconds left to give the hosts the two-point lead. Guelph's rookie point guard Skyla Minaker set up the final possession and as the seconds ticked away, she found Quincy Sickles-Jarvis on the left wing. The veteran's high-arcing three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim and the Thunderwolves escaped with their second nailbiter win of the weekend.

"Overall, this will end up being a good learning experience," said head coach Mark Walton. "We did some good things. We probably did enough on defence to win. There was just not enough poise at the offensive end."
 
Guelph deserved credit for even having a chance. The Gryphons were ice cold in the second half of the game and were dominated by the one-woman show from Grant, who finished with 41 points and 16 rebounds, 21 of her huge tally coming in the second half.
 
Ivana Vujadinovic was a bright spot for Guelph (5-7), coming off the bench to score a team-high 17 points, while chipping in 4 rebounds. The third-year veteran from Burlington, ON drew praise from Walton for her willingness to attack. She was fearless when matched up with Grant, taking it to the OUA scoring and rebounding leader for some key makes as the Gryphons' offence struggled. Vujadinovic scored 6 straight points during a fourth-quarter stretch and made a huge layup to trim the Lakehead lead to 62-60.
 
Minaker was equally impressive, scoring 15 points and pulling down a team-best 9 rebounds despite her diminutive 5-7 frame. She also made some big shots, including an acrobatic layup in the final minute to tie the game 62-62.
 
Guelph scored just 24 points in the second half, shooting a woeful 7-for-29 over the last two quarters. They missed rookie Burke Bechard, who was suffering from the flu and sat for most of the last two quarters.

"Burke had nothing in the tank," the coach said. "She wasn't her usual self."

And Grant had her way, incorporating a mid-range game to her array of post moves and solid free throw shooting, making her virtually unguardable. Guard Tiffany Reynolds was second in Lakehead scoring with just 6 points.
 
The Thunderwolves also shot an incredible 0-for-18 from long range but they did manage 12 steals to disrupt the Guelph offence.

"Some of their steals came at key times," said Walton. "We weren't executing what we should have and it just compounds things. That was frustrating as can be."
 
The Gryphons had a poor start in the first quarter but managed to stay close to Lakehead. Guelph threw some errant passes around the Thunderwolves' zone that were picked off and Grant had a field day, scoring 11 of the hosts' first 13 points, 4 of them coming off inbounds plays. Minaker and Bechard had to sit after picking up their second foul each, both on questionable calls. But the Gryphons hung around and Haley Belyk nailed a big three-pointer late that made it 16-14 Lakehead at the quarter's end.
 
Guelph was much sharper in the second quarter and despite Grant finishing the half with 20 points, the visitors went on a 7-0 run to head into the locker room with a 38-31 lead. Like Belyk in the first, Minaker made a big three before scoring on a layup for five straight points. Vujadinovic then hit two from the line with seconds remaining to give the Gryphons their biggest lead of the game.
 
It was a surprising halftime lead considering they were outrebounded 24-11 and shot just 32.4 per cent from the field but Guelph's 12 free throw makes were critical in building the margin.
 
The Gryphons are back on the court Wednesday, Jan. 10 when they host the Laurier Golden Hawks in the annual Shoot For the Cure game. The tip is at 6 pm.