The McMaster Marauders women's basketball team kicked off their season in an emphatic manner, coming away with a 74-65 victory over the Lakehead Thunderwolves at home on Friday evening.

Sarah Gates led all players with a game-high 32-points, cracking over 1,000 career regular season points in her four years as a Marauder, shooting 10-13 from the floor, and 5-of-7 from deep. Amy Stinson was a spark off the bench, contributing 12 points, on 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists in only 17 minutes of action.

The Thunderwolves started the game off shooting an impressive 50% from the floor in the first quarter, sneaking away with an 18-15 lead after 10 minutes of action. But the Marauders put the clamps on in the second quarter, holding the visiting team to just 33% percent from the floor, and a dismal 0-5 from three-point range.

Going up 37-26 into the half, the Marauders never looked back, outscoring Lakehead 22-11 in the third quarter en route to the victory.

 "I think we've got a lot of depth, and a lot talent," said Head Coach Burns. "It was really nice for us to be able to get our entire bench in, and get some quality minutes out of everybody tonight."

"We've got a very young team, and they all need to get out there and get some experience, we were able to do that tonight and they all contributed."

The Marauders return to Burridge Gym tomorrow night for the second of a back-to-back against the Thunderwolves, tip-off is scheduled for 6pm.