Box Score HAMILTON, Ont. — In what turned out to be their most physical contest so far this season, the Western Mustangs wasted a 29-point, five-rebound night from the unequivocal floor-general and hometown star Jenny Vaughan in the 65-60 loss to the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton.

“It was a fantastic performance. One of the stellar performances I’ve seen so far this year,” said Mustangs head coach Brian Cheng.

“It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t put a win behind it. Jenny worked very hard and coming into her hometown, she played phenomenally. I feel disappointed for our team and I feel disappointed for her that we couldn’t put value behind our effort today,” he continued.

With the midway point of the 21-game season coming – literally – at halftime, both teams looked to strengthen their playoff positions with a win over the other. A win for third-seed Western would mean some breathing room with McMaster looming just behind in the fourth place. A win for the Marauders would give each team identical records, but would give them the seeding-edge.

With the playoff implications of the game’s outcome apparent to both sides, a wild fight to the final whistle was all but ensured right from the opening tip-off.

If Vaughan had been having a poor season from beyond the three-point arc, no one had bothered to tell the Mustangs veteran today. Having made only seven such attempts from long-range in 10 games this season, Vaughan succeeded on three in the first four minutes of the game alone.

And as if to remind fans of her skill from close-range as well, the OUA’s second-highest per-game scorer turned a clever play from right under McMaster’s own basket. With no Mustangs open to receive the inbound pass, Vaughan bounced the ball off an unaware Marauders’ back, retrieved the ball, turned and drained the easy lay-up. Well, at least Vaughan made it look easy. Vaughan collected 11 of her 29 points in the first quarter.

“I just got hot today. I got lucky. I had a lot of open looks early, so I had a chance to get going lots of other people stepped up […] and opened the lanes for me. The more opportunities we have, the better we’re going to get,” said Vaughan after her big homecoming performance.

With McMaster hanging tough and Vaughan filling the basket for Western, the teams would finish the first frame tied 15-15.

From the second-quarter on, neither team was able to string more than two or three possessions together for a stoppage in play—the winner would be the team that simply outlasted the other. Both teams went on brief scoring runs, but a total of 17 personal fouls and 12 turnovers between the two teams put a halt to any momentum and kept the game close. Fittingly, the teams again finished the second-quarter even with 31 points apiece.

McMaster finished the first half with 10 offensive rebounds to Western’s five, and forced four more turnovers than the visiting side and would go on to amass 23 total offensive rebounds in the game. Cheng put the team’s recent rebounding struggles in perspective.

“How important is rebounding? Well, scoring is for the fans and defence helps you win games, but rebounding wins championships. That’s how important rebounding is—control the boards and you control the flow of the game.”

With the intensity of play rising exponentially, the packed arena of purple-wearing Mustang and maroon-wearing Marauder fans—many adorned in the neutral pink in support of McMaster’s own Shoot for the Cure game in support of breast cancer—enthusiastically backed their squads.

At the end of the third-quarter, the Marauders held a slim two-point lead with just the decisive frame to play.

Blazing into the final stretch, the hometown Marauders would find themselves in the lead, 63-60 with 27.3 second to play. Western had possession to begin their final charge. On the ensuing inbound, Western lost control, forcing an intentional foul with just under 19 seconds remaining. McMaster’s Vanessa Bonomo would hit both attempts, putting the final touches on the Marauder’s big win.

Vaughan’s performance was aided by an efficient 12-point outing by Caroline Wolynski off the bench on four-for-six shooting. Laura Dally led the Mustangs with seven rebounds.

McMaster’s Hailey Milligan anchored her team with a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double, and adding two blocks for good measure.

The Mustangs return to Alumni Hall for a pivotal back-to-back set versus the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday, January 18 and again on Saturday January 19. Tip-off for both games is at 6:00 PM.