Right in the thick of the OUA playoff hunt, the Western Women’s basketball team is looking to create some separation in what has become a tight middle-ground in the OUA West Division. Currently sitting in the third-seed with a 6-5 record behind undefeated Windsor and Brock, Western has an excellent opportunity to edge away from their challengers with the fourth-seed Lakehead Thunderwolves (5-6) playing a back-to-back set this weekend at Alumni Hall.

Western will look to Jenny Vaughan to buoy the Mustangs’ offensive attack.  With a huge 29-point outing versus McMaster in the previous contest, Vaughan asserted her position as one of the best scorers in the league; her 19.7 points per game is good for second in the OUA.

The Thunderwolves will be led by veteran guard Carolyn Fragale and her 14.4 points per game and Ayse Kalkan’s 7.9 rebounds per game.

As has been the case for most of the season, to run away with a pair of victories this weekend the Mustangs will need to focus on ball control including limiting turnovers as Western is third in the OUA with 20.1 turnovers per contest, and will also need to clean up the rebounds on their own end. More often than not, Western – currently tied with Queen’s at 41% accuracy from the field – bests their opponents in shooting percentage but extra possessions allow their challengers to keep the score close late into the game.

After allowing 23 offensive-rebounds to McMaster in the previous contest, head coach Brian Cheng used a well-worn basketball idiom to describe the importance of wrangling in those missed shots:

“Scoring is for the fans and defense wins games, but rebounding wins championships.”

The effort on the glass will be a team effort as it has been all season, with coach Cheng looking for his best rebounders to share the workload. Veteran guard Laura Dally and forward Melissa Rondinelli both rebound well despite playing closer to the perimeter at times.

First-year forward Mara Greunke, a student of Germany’s national program, will be called on to continue her season of growth. Her 2.7 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game do not paint the picture of her recent play; the more playing time Greunke is granted alongside the veterans, the sooner she could develop into the cornerstone player the program envisioned when they recruited her.

Look for a big outing by the Mustangs in response to their disappointing late-game loss to McMaster last weekend. Tip-off for both nights is at 6:00 PM.