It took the Marauders a quarter to get their game in order Friday, but once they did, the country's third-ranked team made quick work of the Thunderbirds on their first of two nights in Sault Ste. Marie.

Trailing 19-18 through 10 minutes, McMaster proceeded to outscore Algoma by 36 points the rest of the way, en route to an 86-51 win on the road.

The result improved the Marauders to 18-3 in conference play, keeping them a game ahead of the Lakehead Thunderwolves for the top spot in the OUA West division standings with just three games left to be played in the regular season.

Matching the career single game high she set in Waterloo in January, second-year guard Sarah Gates poured in 27 points to lead her team and the game Friday. The Newmarket, Ont. native shot a blistering 10 of 14 from the field and six of eight from three-point range, and completed the night with three steals and no turnovers to her name.

She was particularly lethal in the second half as her team sped toward the victory, scoring 18 points on seven of nine shooting and four of five from three-point range.

Complementing the young guard, the veteran duo of Linnaea Harper and Hilary Hanaka also eclipsed the double digit mark in points Friday, with 13 and 12 respectively. Harper added 11 rebounds to record her seventh double double of the season.

Algoma was punished consistently for its inability to protect the ball, with 26 turnovers on the night translating to 75 McMaster shooting attempts to the home side's 46, of which the Marauders made 49 per cent from the field and 35 per cent from three-point range.

NEXT UP: The teams renew hostilities Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie, as the second half of the weekend doubleheader gets underway at 6:00 p.m. and can be seen live on OUA.tv.