HAMILTON, Ont. – A pair of tries from Cindy Nelles helped lead the McMaster Marauders to a 24-10 win over the Western Mustangs women's rugby team on Saturday night at Ron Joyce Stadium in an OUA semi-final matchup.
 
With the loss the Mustangs will now face off with the Queen's Gaels next week for OUA bronze, while the Marauders move on to take on the Guelph Gryphons in the OUA Final. Next week's bronze medal match will have added significance as the winner will advance to the CIS Women's Rugby Championship being hosted by the Gryphons. With Guelph having qualified for the championship as either the OUA finalist or OUA champion, the Gryphons berth as the host team will go to the bronze medalist.
 
The Marauders opened the scoring on Saturday night with a try from Saffara Whiteley-Hoffelner and a conversion from Stephanie Black giving McMaster an early lead. Breanne Nicholas proved the Mustangs offence in the half, scoring a penalty goal, while the Marauders countered with tries from Nelles and Emily Ricketts to take a 17-3 lead at halftime.
 
Western would go on to add another seven points in the second half thanks to a try from Lori Josephson and a conversion from Nicholas, however it wouldn't be enough as the Marauders recorded a try and conversion of their own to take a 24-10 victory.
 
Western now gets set to host the OUA bronze medal match next weekend against Queen's with a trip to the CIS Championship on the line.