LONDON, Ont. - The No. 5 Western Mustangs survived a late comeback from No. 1 Windsor Lancers to move into first place with a 57-54 victory in Alumni Hall on Jan. 5.

Jacklyn Selfe led the Mustangs attack with 23 points and five rebounds. Matteke Hutzler was solid in the paint with 13 points and added nine rebounds.

FULL BOX SCORE

With the win the Mustangs move into first place in the OUA West with an 8-1 record. The Lancers drop to second place at 7-2 overall.

Both teams struggled to find their shots early in the game as the defences for either team were playing well. Windsor was able to hit a few tough shots to lead 14-9 after the first quarter.

The Mustangs responded in the second to shut down the Lancers offensively, holding them to six points on the quarter. Western held a seven-point halftime advantage at 27-20.

The third quarter was a hard fought affair as neither team could sustain a large run. With each team scoring 17 apiece in the quarter it remained a seven-point lead for the Mustangs 44-37 at the end of the third quarter.

The Lancers would not go away without a fight and managed to shut the Mustangs down on a couple possessions to cut into the lead and tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Western responded with a couple of key baskets to put the game out of reach with a lay-up at the buzzer by Windsor making it a one-possession game.

Next up for the Mustangs is a home game at Alumni Hall against the McMaster Marauders on Sat. Jan. 8 at 1 p.m. The Mustangs will head to Windsor in two weeks to have their rematch with the Lancers in a game that could decide home-court advantage for the playoffs.