LONDON, Ont. - Despite an assertive display of athleticism in the first half, the Western Mustangs women's basketball team fell 72-80 to the Brock Badgers at Alumni Hall on Saturday night.

Maddy Horst led the way offensively for the Mustangs with 15 points, while Caroline Wolynski shot 7-12 from the field to net 14, with Mackenzie Puklicz also recording 14 points on the night. Puklicz also picked up eight rebounds, second to Victoria Heine who made herself present under the basket for 13.
 
The Mustangs came out of the gate strong in the first quarter, running the ball quickly and making their presence felt in the offensive zone. Defensively, Heine played aggressively near the basket with the 6'1" forward winning numerous battles for rebounds. Western's defence limited the Badgers to just four successful field goals, however Brock's success at the foul line helped them tie things up to end the quarter 21-21.
 
Western's strong play continued in the second quarter, with the Mustangs offense making numerous pushes. Horst was able to through the Badgers' defence to reach the basket on multiple occasions, and by the end of the second quarter the Mustangs led 39-37.
 
The purple and white defence started to crack in the third quarter as the Badgers took advantage of turnovers and were able to take time to put up their shots. Brock shot 60% from the field for the quarter to take a 13-point lead, bringing the score to 66-53.
 
As has been the case for the Mustangs all season, they were able to regroup in the fourth quarter and get some good shots up. Western outscored Brock 19-14 in the fourth thanks to an 11-point effort put up by Horst. However, this would not be enough for the Mustangs as the Badgers claimed the 80-72 victory to improve their record to 3-4 on the season.
 
With the loss, Western sees their record fall to 2-6 on the season. Head coach Brian Cheng said he's proud of his team, but despite hard work and improvements in shooting and rebounding, they need to ensure those fundamentals are sound all game long.
 
"We're not playing focused as a unit for 40 minutes," said Cheng. "We have to play all 40 minutes to beat any team in the CIS."
 
Cheng is looking forward to tournament play when the team heads to Windsor for the Windsor Holiday Classic, held from December 27-29, which will be another testing ground for this young team to gain experience and build their skills.
 
"We're learning tough lessons right now. But I will say that our girls are committed, they're working hard, and our team's getting better," noted Cheng. "We we're gaining valuable experience, pearls of wisdom and we keep adding new skills to our team."
 
The Mustangs will have lots of time to prepare for the tournament as no more regular season games are scheduled for the 2014 calendar year. OUA action returns in 2015 when Western heads to Windsor to face off against the Lancers on Wednesday, January 7, with game time set for 6:00 p.m.