KAMLOOPS – Kamloops product Jessica Orr filled the bucket Friday night, helping the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's basketball team to a 78-69 victory over the MacEwan Griffins inside the TCC.
 
The win was the first of the season for the WolfPack, who were buoyed by a career night from Orr. The second year graduate of Valleyview Secondary went 4-8 from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 25 points.
 
"She came out and played hard," said head coach Todd Warnick. "She did exactly what she needed to do and it starts with her defence, she was disciplined."
 
The win was the first for Warnick in his WolfPack career after the former NAIT Ooks bench boss took the reins of the 'Pack this season.
 
"This is a significant step forward for us," said Warnick. "MacEwan came out hard today, they missed some shots they normally make and we were able to take advantage of that. We shot the ball well and defended to the level that I know we can"
 
The Griffins kept things close for much of the night but TRU took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back for the victory.
 
Orr had a game-high 25 points while Megan Rouault finished the night with 21 points, shooting at over a 63 per cent clip from the floor. Kelsey Cruz rounded out the WolfPack scorers in double-digits with 11 points.
 
"We got good minutes out of everyone who saw the floor today, everyone gave us something today," said Warnick. "Ultimately it's a team game and it's a team win."
 
MacEwan was led by the duo of Mackenzie Farmer and Shannon Majeau. Both players recorded double-doubles in the game with Farmer tallying 19 points and 14 rebounds while Majeau added 18 points and 10 boards. Hayley Lalor injected energy into a Griffins comeback effort in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 points.
 
After a cagey opening the game shifted into another gear towards the end of the first quarter, when Rouault scored six points in a row to get the 'Pack up by six and allow them to take a 19-14 lead after ten minutes.
 
Keeping the Griffins in the game in the second quarter, Farmer took charge with seven points and three assists leading to a slim 34-31 TRU lead at the half.
 
Orr and Cruz combined for 17 points by themselves in the third quarter while the WolfPack defence held the Griffins to shooting just 29 per cent from the floor as a team as TRU extended their advantage to nine with ten minutes left to play. 
 
The Griffins came out in the fourth on a mission and started with a full court press defence. Lalor scored eight points to shrink the WolfPack lead to three points. However, six points from Makeba Taylor and five from Priyanca Sundher put the WolfPack back in charge, building up a 13-point lead. A late surge by the Griffins, fueled by six points from Noelle Killbreath, kept the game tight but it was the WolfPack who came out on top, 78-69.
 
The two teams will play again Saturday night at 5:30 pm inside the TCC.