LONDON, Ont. -- With a tremendous 26-point showing from Dundas-native Jenny Vaughan and a hard-fought defensive effort, the Mustangs defeated the visiting McMaster Marauders 75-62 on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall for their ninth-straight win.

McMaster is one of only three teams Canada-wide – alongside Windsor and St. Mary's – with two scorers in the CIS top 20 overall. Post-pivot Hailey Milligan trails only Vaughan in points per game in the OUA with 20.3 while teammate Danielle Boigao adds a significant threat from beyond the arc with her 41.3% three-point shooting.

To assert itself among the elite of the division, the Mustangs would need to find success with a formula that has worked at other points in the season: keep out easy shot-attempts in the paint and force the opposition to rely on their jump-shots. Controlling the physical presence of Milligan down low would be a priority throughout the game.

While Boigao wrestled free for a team-high 24 points, Mulligan was only able to tally 11 of her own.

"It was a whole team effort," said Mustangs' head coach, Brian Cheng. "We had a scout on Milligan and we executed the scouting report. The team did what we needed to do to guard McMaster. We have a great deal of respect for Milligan and their team; they're a great team with great players. I'm proud of our kids and how we handled the situation."

After ending the first quarter with a comfortable eight-point cushion, the Mustangs' offense sputtered to begin the second, conceding nine unanswered points – and the lead – to the Marauders. The Mustangs would right the ship by the half, leaving the floor with a slim 35-31 lead but otherwise holding the fort strong against one of its toughest opponents yet this season.

With the vigor of a true contender, the Mustangs recovered from their early-game missteps and were relentless in closing out the Marauders when the victory appeared within reach. Shooting 33.3% as a team in the second quarter, Western closed out the game by shooting a much-improved 43.2% from the third quarter on.

Staying true to the formula, Western bumped and bruised the imposing Milligan and seemed to have the talented forward visibly withdrawn late in the game. Notably, Milligan seemed to have difficulty adjusting to the left-handed driving-attack of Mustangs forward Katelyn Leddy; while still being a force on the glass with a game-high 16 rebounds, Mulligan's output on offense seemed to dwindle as the level of frustration on defense rose.

"Leddy has been solid throughout the season," said Coach Cheng. "She's been playing very well. There are not a lot of teams in the OUA with the forward play to attack Milligan. I thought we did a good job attacking her and making her play both ends of the floor."

Leddy would finish with a team-high 11 rebounds as well as 18 points while playing most of the game matched up with Mulligan.

With the first half of the 2013-2014 season in the books, the Mustangs go into hibernation until OUA action resumes in the new year – save an exhibition tournament hosted by St. Mary's University over the holidays. Their regular season continues Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 in Guelph versus the Gryphons. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.