Kohlmeier gave dozens of Golden Hawks’ supporters her signature for autograph day, she almost wrote her name in the Laurier record books.
Kohlmeier put up 31 points in a 67-55 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday in women’s basketball action, coming just one point short of tying the Laurier single game record of 32 points.
Kohlmeier’s feat came just three days after teammate Renata Adamczyk scored a career-high 29 points against the McMaster Marauders in an 80-69 win.
“I wish we could plan it that way all the time,” laughed Kohlmeier.
Both tallies were career highs.
As the game progressed, and as each of Kohlmeier’s shots found the mesh, the crowd was electrified by the sensational display of shooting and roared their approval for the fourth-year biology major.
Head coach Paul Falco attributes Kohlmeier’s clutch performance to her ability to do the little things.
“She came to battle on the defensive end which really got her going on the offensive end,” said Falco. “She had some great rebounds where she just boxed out, attacked the ball and she got a bunch of points off the transition. She was playing confidently, which was nice to see.”
That confidence has leaked over to her teammates; the Hawks have now won three in a row to improve to a 7-7 record heading into this week’s matchups.
“Just confidence,” Kohlmeier said of how her team has evolved. “One win turns into another and I think the support that we’re all giving each other really shows.”
“If you can string some wins together, things come easier for you, you start to shoot the ball better,” added Falco. “The biggest factor has been on the defensive end and when we can keep teams under 70 points it gives us a good chance to win every ball game … I don’t think our defence was great, but I think it was good enough and in that fourth quarter when we needed to close the door, we did.”
Despite the Warriors’ 3-11 record, Falco doesn’t want to underestimate the intensity the rival school brings to the table.
“Waterloo showed that they can play hard for 40 minutes, and that’s what we tried to warn these girls all week, which is ‘don’t look at their record.’ If we take any rest, they’re going to be right in the mix,” he said.
Despite the coach’s cautionary words, he can’t take away the enthusiasm the players feel when beating the team down the street.
“It’s always a good game and we always play tough against them,” said Kohlmeier. “But we showed Waterloo who’s the better team.”
The Hawks will get a prime chance to immediately move up in the standings when they face the Brock Badgers – who sit just two points ahead of the purple and gold in the standings – on Wednesday, and with the way this recent streak has been going, it may just be another career night for a Hawk.
