Building a 13-point halftime lead Saturday, McMaster was forced to weather a strong comeback effort from Leashja Grant and the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the second half, en route to a second victory over their top 10 opponents in as many days.

Their lead shrunk to just five points after three quarters but the Marauders never fully relinquished it, and battled to a 70-67 win at Burridge Gym.

McMaster improved to 14-2 in OUA play, extending their lead atop the West Division to two games over Lakehead in the process.

After being held to just 15 points by the Marauders a night earlier, the OUA's leading scorer Grant had 28 in a losing effort.

But the Marauders forced the Thunderwolves to commit 22 turnovers, and saw their own forward Linnaea Harper enjoy a bounce back game of her own.

Harper had 17 points and hit a season high five threes, while racking up four blocks on the defensive end.

The win was Mac's third of the season against nationally-ranked opponents, improving the Marauders to 3-2 in those situations in conference play.

Finding open looks from the field early Saturday, McMaster flew out of the gate in hitting six of its first nine shots as a group and forcing Lakehead into a timeout with a 15-4 lead and 3:15 to play in the first quarter.

The lead remained at 11 as the quarter came to an end, with the Marauders pouring in 21 points in 10 minutes and out-rebounding the Thunderwolves 12-5 in the process.

With the two sides fighting to a virtual standstill in the second quarter, Mac outscored Lakehead 21-19 to build a commanding 36-23 lead at the halftime break.

Their standout post player, Leashja Grant had 10 points through the opening half, but the remainder of the visitors' roster was lagging behind.

Lakehead's fortunes changed drastically in the third, where the Thunderwolves made three quick baskets to open it with an 8-3 run, and followed with another 9-0 streak midway to cut Mac's lead to just four at 48-44.

Along the way, the Thunderwolves brought in 18 rebounds and Grant was complemented by Karissa Kajorinne, who had nine points and a pair of threes as her team pulled within five points at the quarter's end.

Suddenly facing the sort of battle that characterized much of their game a night earlier, the Marauders began to find their transition offence and work into the paint to hold off the Thunderwolves.

Sarah Gates starred in the final frame, with three incisive drives to the rim resulting in a team high seven points in the quarter, as well as a pair of steals.

Her efforts, and the sudden spot-up shooting of Erin Burns, helped Mac hold off another 10-point quarter from Grant, en route to a second tight win over their top 10 rivals in as many days.

NEXT UP: The Marauders opens a two-game road swing with a trip to Windsor to take on the 9-6 Lancers on Wednesday, January 23. That contest tips off at 6:00 p.m. and can be seen live on OUA.tv.