Box Score GUELPH, Ont. - The ‘spirit of giving’ may be in the books but the Mustangs women’s basketball team proved that gifts are not just reserved for late-December.

The Western Mustangs kicked off the second half of their season with a nail-biting road victory over the Guelph Gryphons, 68-64.

Led by 19 points from veteran guard Jenny Vaughan, three other players scoring in double-figures and thanks to the collaborative effort of the Mustangs’ entire bench, Western was able to improve to 5-3 record for the season.

The Mustangs looked to shake off any remaining holiday rust early with their first taste of real opposition in over a month. Memories of their last opening quarter back at Queen’s University in early December – 0-20 opening deficit – seemed to have faded along with the visions of sugar-plums; the Mustangs would build a 7-0 opening run and wouldn’t once concede their lead in the opening frame of 2013 Western basketball action.

Despite Western’s early lead, the Gryphons would finish strong to close the gap bringing the score to 14-12 for the Mustangs after ten minutes. Throughout the game, Guelph would prove to be a hard team to ever truly put away.

The second quarter continued with both teams trading blows in the boxscore. Vaughan reminded fans of her scoring prowess; the speedy scorer collected eight of her 19 points in the second quarter. Third-year guard Laura Dally also dazzled with her tough defense, highlighting her court awareness with a spectacular volleyball-like block midway through the quarter.

Dally, a regular starter, moved into the sixth-woman role off the bench as personnel changes forced Head Coach Brian Cheng to make some adjustments to the starting lineup.

“Dally was sick all Christmas and I thought Emma [Nieuwenhuizen], ‘Bell [Annabel Hancock] and Rondo [Melissa Rondinelli] did a good job during practices and scrimmages,” said Coach Cheng regarding the biggest of the personnel moves.

“We want to bring Laura back slowly. She didn’t have her game legs but she still played 19 minutes and had 11 points, which is fantastic.”

First-year forward Mara Greunke and veteran Emma Nieuwenhuizen made their first starts of the season, with Dally moving to the bench and starting forward Jory McDonald inactive for Thursday night’s game.

The Mustangs forced the Gryphons outside of the paint and dared them to shoot from range. With Guelph making only two of 17 attempts from beyond the arc, it was a calculated risk that ultimately paid off with Western taking control of the game with a 42-25 halftime lead.

“I thought we found a way to grind it. I thought we did a good job building the lead,” said Coach Cheng after the game, adding with a grin “I thought we did a real good job giving it [the lead] back in the second half, too.”

Sustained pressure would have ensured an easy win for Western had it not been for an inspired second half by the Gryphons, who began to find their shooting touch and where able to cut a 17-point lead to only six points heading into the final quarter.

With the level of physicality elevating, what was once on the verge of becoming a Mustang-blowout now promised to be a close finish. The Gryphons cut the lead to two points with just 2:33 left to play.

With the Gryphons’ defence keying in on Vaughan, veteran forward Melissa Rondinelli would score an uncontested lay-up with 1:04 remaining to put the Mustangs up 64-60. The Gryphons’ Alyssa Shortt made two free-throws to cut the lead back to two but with just 17 seconds left on the clock, the Mustangs’ Annabel Hancock would nail an open three-pointer as the shot-clock ran down.

A series of intentional fouls and Western free-throws would close out the game and save the win for the Mustangs.

“There’s a lesson to be learned there and hopefully we’ll learn that lesson,” said Coach Cheng. “Give our girls credit because they found a way to grind out a win. And give their girls credit because they fought back and never quit.”

So far this season, the Mustangs have proven they can command both the beginning of the game and the end; it will be that tricky mid-game slump they will have to solve to push their winning-record higher.

Vaughan’s 19 points would be complimented by 14 from Rondinelli and 11 from Hancock while Dally would pair her 11 points with a team-high six rebounds and three blocks with the Mustangs’ usual leading-rebounder McDonald sitting out.

The Gryphons were anchored on the boards by Jasmine Douglas’ 10 rebounds, with seven coming on the offensive glass, with Kayla Goodhoofd leading the Gryphons with 14 points.

The Mustangs look to build a winning-streak against the visiting Brock Badgers at Alumni Hall on Saturday for the team’s annual Shoot for the Cure game promoting breast cancer awareness and research. Tip-off is at 1 PM, followed by the men’s game at 3 PM.