Box Score WATERLOO, Ont. – A strong first half and a season high 21 points from Emma Nieuwenhuizen helped the Western Mustangs women’s basketball team pick up their second straight victory, defeating the Waterloo Warriors 73-30 on Wednesday night.
 
With the win the Mustangs now take sole possession of third place in the OUA West and now hold a 10-8 record and a two-point edge on the fourth place Laurier Golden Hawks. The Golden Hawks were also in action on Wednesday falling 79-74 in overtime to the Brock Badgers.
 
The Mustangs were in control right from the opening tip off on Wednesday, starting out the game on a 14-0 run and keeping the Warriors off the scoreboard until the final minute of the first quarter when Gia Spiropoulos scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 14-4 for Western after one.
 
Quarter two unfolded in a similar fashion as the opening frame with Western controlling the play for the majority of the frame. Strong shooting from Nieuwenhuizen propelled the Mustangs to outscore their opponents 20-6, ending the first half up 34-10.
 
Unfortunately for the Warriors things wouldn’t get much better in the second half as the Mustangs continued to outshoot the home side en route to a 73-30 final score.
 
Leading the way for the Mustangs offence on Wednesday night was Nieuwenhuizen who’s 21 points came in only 21 minutes of action. Jenny Vaughan was next on the Western score sheet with 16 points, while Mara Greunke and Melissa Rondinelli were each a force on the boards pulling down 12 and 11 rebounds respectively.
 
Next up for the Mustangs is a showdown with Laurier on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall in the team’s final home game of the regular season. It’s the first of two games the teams will play over the next two weeks, and with only a two-point difference between them in the standings third place could hinge on what happens this weekend at Alumni Hall. Tip-off on Saturday is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.