The McMaster women's basketball team shook off a shaky opening quarter to garner a big 81-62 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks Saturday afternoon in Waterloo.

The Marauders started the game well, jumping out to a 10-2 lead off the tip and holding a 15-6 advantage midway through the opening quarter. At that point Laurier went off from long distance and outscored McMaster 19-2 to end the quarter with a 25-17 lead. The Hawks knocked down five treys during their scoring barrage to knock McMaster on its heels.

The second stanza saw the Laurier lead get up to 30-21, at which point McMaster's Danielle Boiago took over, scoring eight points to key a 14-0 run that put the Maroon in front 35-30. By the intermission the Marauders held a 41-33 advantage.

Laurier tried to cut the Mac lead in the third quarter, but behind some solid inside play from Clare Kenney, Andrea Polischuk, and Linnaea Harper, McMaster maintained the eight-point bulge at 59-51 by the end of the quarter.

It was all McMaster to start the final quarter, as the Marauders outscored the Hawks 8-1 to boost the lead to 15 and force Laurier into a timeout. With time winding down, the Hawks could get no closer than 13 points as McMaster denied them the sustained scoring needed to come back.

Boiago led the Marauders with 20 points on the day, with Harper scoring 19 and Kenney 16. Laurier got 13 apiece from Courtney Bruce and Irena Rynkiewicz.

McMaster improves its record to 7 and 2 and remains in first-place in the OUA Central. The Marauders next take on the defending national champion Windsor Lancers on Wednesday, January 20 in the Burridge Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 6-pm.