Box Score LONDON, Ont. — On the first of back-to-back games this weekend versus the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves, the Mustangs rode a balanced attack—and a gigantic game by veteran guard Laura Dally—to a 80-68 victory.

With just two minutes to play it was Dally who essentially guaranteed the win for the Mustangs with a deep three-pointer from the top of the arc. And with the Mustangs up 76-66 with just 1:05 to play, all that remained, for the sake of the record books, was the chance for Dally’s own personal achievement.

Lacking only a tenth assist for the rare OUA triple-double—double digit numbers in points, rebounds and assists—Dally nearly missed out on a special personal moment.

But with 14 seconds to go, Dally would push the ball upcourt on a three-on-two advantage, flanked by Emma Nieuwenhuizen and Jenny Vaughan. With the defender covering her, Dally made a quick bounce pass to Vaughan. The layup hung on the rim momentarily before trickling in—assist: L.Dally.

After the final buzzer her stats read: 13 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and two blocks.

“That is massive,” Vaughan said about Dally’s achievement. “Her game is underrated—she might not have gotten 20 points tonight – but my god, she was huge tonight.”

The irony, of course, is that neither Dally nor Vaughan had any idea how close they came to missing that mark.

“I’ve only heard about triple-doubles in the NBA, so I had no idea how close I was,” Dally said.

Despite Dally’s personal accomplishment, there were times throughout the game where Western’s lead fell within striking distance of the potent Thunderwolves’ offense.

Each team traded blows early with second-year guard Annabel Hancock putting her team on her shoulders with an array of deep three-point attempts.

Coming into this weekends match-ups, Vaughan’s 19.7 points per game remains a close second in the OUA scoring-title race, but having Hancock carry some of the load allowed head coach Brian Cheng’s team to expand their offensive arsena.

Hancock made all of her first-quarter shots, including three from downtown. After 10 minutes of action, the Mustangs had a 26-18 lead.

Sustaining the Mustangs 42-25 halftime lead over the visiting Thunderwolves was the exceptional play by Dally. The skilled veteran tallied eight points, nine rebounds and six assists in 19 minutes of play in the first half.

With a determined Mustang team on the floor looking to create some noise in the OUA-West division standings, it would take an inspired effort in the second-half for the Thunderwolves to make the comeback.

However, a series of three-pointers by Lakehead would allow the team from Thunder Bay to pull within nine points of the Mustangs. All of a sudden, the win didn’t look so easy. But the Mustangs responded. With just under three minutes remaining in the third-quarter, the Mustangs would be back up by 17. And with only the final quarter remaining, Western was up 61-42.

Despite a late charge from the Thunderwolves in the fourth-quarter, including an array of three-pointers, the Mustangs held on for the victory.

Vaughan finished with a team-high 21 points, while first-year forward Mara Greunke added 14 of her own.

Lakehead’s Carolyn Fragale led the game with 32 points and went eight-for-14 from three-point territory.

“Fragale got 32 points [so] that will be one adjustment [we need to make].” Cheng said about how his team will prepare for tomorrow’s game. “There are going to be things we need to see on tape. We need to evaluate the tape and give it a night and repeat some of the good things we did today.”

As for Dally, she, too, hopes she can repeat her success tomorrow night.

“I’m just trying to fill in with whatever we need out there to get the win.”

The Mustangs will look to send Lakehead back to Thunder Bay winless, with the second game commencing Saturday night. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 8:00 p.m.