LONDON, Ont. - If the opening three minutes were any indication, it's going to be a great season for the Western Mustangs. But the youthful inexperience in their first game of the year also illustrated that the Mustangs have a lot of work to do to reach their potential.

Western opened up with an 11-0 run and never trailed until the final two minutes, but wound up losing 65-61 to NCAA Division I Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI).

Rookie Laura Dally of Sarnia, Ont., led the Mustangs with 20 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Jenny Vaughan of Dundas, Ont., added 13 points as she was perfect one all nine attempts at the foul line.

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Despite the early Western run, IUPUI battled back with resilience, especially on second-effort baskets. The Jaguars held a 22-16 rebounding advantage but trailed by five, 36-31 at the half. the ended up outrebounding Western 45-35 on the night.

The Jaguars cut the deficit to one point at 42-41 after using their full court pressure and rebounding advantage to push the fast break.

But the Mustangs showed poise with senior forward and SFU transfer Matteke Hutzler of Napanee, Ont., controlling the inside and Western defending well to restore a comfortable lead at 51-42 after three quarters.

Turnovers and poor shooting hurt Western as IUPUI clawed within two to 59-57 with about four minutes left in game thanks to a jumper from Clara Mitchell of Lexington, Ky.

Kerah Nelson - the Jaguars' leading scorer with 19 points and 12 rebounds - helped the Jaguars late surge with two steals, a pair of rebounds and a clutch three-pointer. The native of St. Petersburg, Fla., turned the game around.

Meanwhile junior guard Janna Eichelberger of West Columbia, S.C., was also a demon on loose ball rebounds, corralling three in a minute span in the final three minutes to keep the game within two points, setting up a Nelson pass to lead to another Mitchell jumper.

Finally, Nelson tied the game at 61 and drew a Vaughan foul, setting up the Jaguars their first lead of the game. She missed the foul shot but IUPUI pulled in another offensive board leading to a Nelson basket for their first lead with 1:50 remaining, 63-61.

Mitchell drained a pair from the charity stripe with 30 seconds remaining to extend the lead to four for good.
The rematch between the teams goes on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Alumni Hall.