LONDON –  The Windsor Lancers spoiled the Western Mustangs women's basketball home opener on Wednesday night, defeating the Mustangs by an 88-41 score at Alumni Hall.

The Lancers showed why they are the four-time defending CIS champions by playing dominant ball in the first half, taking advantage of seven steals to outscore Western 43-17. Western struggled at times defensively; keeping lanes open for Windsor's Korissa Williams who capitalized for 11 points in the first half, before eventually finishing with a game-high 19.

Western came back a little stronger after halftime, getting the ball in the paint for layups from Alex Van Heeswyk, Caroline Wolynski, and Sasha Samardzija, which helped the team put up 16 points in the third quarter.

But the surge wouldn't be enough as the Lancers came back with another runaway quarter to end the game. Despite nearly keeping nearly even with the Lancers on offensive rebounds with eight compared to 11 for the visitors, Windsor's defensive pressure would not allow the Mustangs to convert many for points.

Mackenzie Pucklicz led Mustangs scoring, going 4 for 10 from the field with 11 points, rounded out by an assist and a rebound. Victoria Heine shot 50% from the field for six points, and led the team with six rebounds. While Williams topped the Lancers score sheet with 19 points, four other players ended up in double digits including Jocelyn LaRocque (18 points), Andrea Kiss (11 points), Emily Prevost (11 points), and Kristine Lalonde (10 points).

While the absence of the majority of last year's starting lineup, including 2013-14 OUA West Player of the Year Jenny Vaughan, made for some new faces on the court including guard Maddy Horst who was all over the court, and finished with eight points in her OUA debut. And although she only played seven minutes, Sarah Schulz came off the bench and almost immediately nailed a three pointer to help breathe some life back into a team that, at the time, trailed by 24.

Western will continue their opening week schedule on Friday night when they take on the Guelph Gryphons. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Alumni Hall, and fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv