LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs women’s basketball team will travel to Hamilton, Ont. on Wednesday night for their first-round playoff game against the McMaster Marauders at 6:00 p.m. at the Burridge Gymnasium.

(#5) Western Mustangs (11-11, 3-9 away in Regular Season) vs. (#4) McMaster Marauders (11-11, 6-4 home)

Wednesday, Feb. 22: 6:00 p.m.
Burridge Gym, Hamilton, Ont.
Live Stream: TBA

The Mustangs' late-season 77-70 win over McMaster helped lift Western into the playoffs, and now they'll get another crack at the Marauders in the first round of the 2011-12 OUA women's basketball playoffs. Both teams finished with a .500 record on the year (11-11), but McMaster earned home-court advantage by virtue of a tie-breaker involving points for/against. As a result, if the Mustangs hope to advance to an OUA West Quarter-Final match, they'll have to win at McMaster, where they fell 77-63 two Wednesday's ago (Feb. 8). The Western women went just 3-9 on the road during the regular season.

The Mustangs earned their spot in the playoffs by going 8-4 over their last 12 games. McMaster, meanwhile, went 6-4 over their last 10 to earn their own trip to the postseason. It should be a close contest Wednesday night, as these teams have played each other well in each of their matchups this season. Western holds the advantage in the shooting department, coming in at 41.5% overall this season and 36.3% from three-point range (6th-best in CIS). The Marauders shot 37.8% overall during the regular season and 30.8% from three-point range. One of the keys for the Mustangs, as it has been most of the year, will be not giving up second-chance opportunities. Katelyn Leddy, who leads the Western women with 6.0 rebounds per game, will play a big role on that front. Another key will be minimizing the offensive output of McMaster's leading scorer, Taylor Chiarot, who has tallied a combined 46 points in the two games between these teams.

Team Stat Leaders

	Western	McMaster
Points (PPG)	Jenny Vaughan    14.0	Taylor Chiarot    16.5
Rebounds (RPG)	Katelyn Leddy    6.0	Hailey Milligan    8.2
Assists (APG)	Vaughan    3.8	Vanessa Bonomo    4.8
Steals	Vaughan    29	Chiarot/Stephanie Truelove    34
Blocks	Laura Dally    10	Chiarot    22