LONDON, Ont. - On paper, the numbers were nearly identical for the Western and McMaster women's basketball teams after the first half of play. But the control slipped away for the Stangs in the 3rd quarter, eventually leading to a 65-51 loss at the hands of the CIS' 7th ranked team on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.
 
Maddy Horst led the Mustangs scoring with 16 points, going 6-8 in field goals and shooting perfect from the foul line, sinking all three free throw attempts. Victoria Heine followed with 14 in addition to 6 rebounds. The Marauders had four players in double digits, with Danielle Boiago, Clare Kenney, and Hilary Hanaka scoring 18, 17, and 12 poitns respectively. Guard Linnaea Harper led all players with 12 rebounds in the win.
 
Western broke out of the gate with an intensity that seemed to catch the Marauders off guard, moving the ball well both down the court and between each other in the offensive zone. Heine's presence under the net helped keep the ball on the home team's side, with four of her rebounds alone coming in the opening quarter.
 
By the end of first half, Heine had already amassed 10 points and five defensive rebounds. With the score at 24-23, the Mustangs trailed by only a point and matched McMaster in field goals, free throw percentage, and total rebounds after the opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Things started to unravel in the third quarter, though, when Western committed sevent turnovers compared to one by McMaster. The Marauders capitalized on these turnovers in the form of Clare Kenney, who shot 54% from the field, connecting on seven of her 13 attempts from the floor. McMaster outscored the Mustangs 24-13 in the frame, giving the visitors a 13 point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Stronger fourth quarter play has been in the repertoire of the Mustangs this season and tonight's game was no different. The team stayed competitive in the last frame, matching the 15 points put up by the visitors, and staying even keel on turnovers. However, the damage in the third quarter was too much to overcome, and McMaster claimed a 65-51 victory.
 
"There's been some ownership from players on the team," said Mustangs head coach Brian Cheng about the loss. "We saw that tonight, for three quarters. [McMaster's] the seventh ranked team in the country. If you only show up for three quarters, then that's not going to be enough."
 
Western is at home again on Saturday when they host the Brock Badgers at Alumni Hall. Cheng said his team has been improving since the start of the season and hopes it will show in the upcoming matchup.
 
"With young teams there's nothing for sure. You can only prepare them to make good choices The good news is every week we get litmus tests to measure our improvements."
 
Saturday's game tips off at 6 p.m. at Alumni Hall, and fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv.