With another win under their belts against the Carleton Ravens on January 26, the Western Mustangs women's basketball team hopes to taste victory again when they host the York Lions and Queen's Gaels on January 30 and 31 at Alumni Hall. The games will be tied into a weekend of Mustang Days events that sees many of Western's varsity teams showcased on their home turf.

The win against Carleton propelled fourth-year guard Caroline Wolynski into the spotlight. This week's Mustang Athlete of the Week, Wolynski scored a career-high 23 points while amassing three steals against the Ravens. Over her last four games, she has averaged 17 points and stripped opponents for nine steals.

In their games this week, the Mustangs face two very different squads. The struggling Lions come into Alumni Hall on Friday having only chalked up two wins this season while currently sliding on a four-game losing streak.  The more consistent Gaels, meanwhile, sit at 8-4 in the OUA North, second only to the CIS No. 8 ranked Ryerson Rams. Queen's put together an impressive comeback attempt against the Rams in their last outing, but fell just short for a 79-71 loss.

York vs. Western - Friday, January 30 at 6:00 p.m.  Watch live on OUA.tv

The Mustangs Shoot for the Cure event for breast cancer awareness happens this Friday when York comes to town. It's the eighth year running for this fundraising initiative, which is headed by the CIS Women's Basketball Coaches Association. According to the CIS, the campaign has pulled in $761,309.12 since 2007, including $633,303.89 to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

York is a team hungry for a win, and has a leader in two-way player Courtney Osborne who is averaging 9.7 points per game and 6.2 rebounds, after being stunted to just 10 points over her past two games. The Mustangs need to be a nuisance to her and get in her space. The player to do that may be Sasha Samardzija, who was effective in sticking to her defensive pairings and obstructing passing lanes in her last game against the Ravens. Samardzija also made her presence known on the other side of the court, heading to the line three times after drawing fouls. Her style may be effective against Osborne, who also leads her team in fouls given.

Overall, the Mustangs just need to assert themselves offensively against the Lions. Western is the better scoring team between the two, averaging 10 points a game more than their York University foes.

Queen's vs. Western - Saturday, January 31 at 6:00 p.m.  Watch live on OUA.tv

It's hard to think of a better way to bring out the purple pride for Mustang Days than taking on arch rivals Queen's in the final match of a five-game home stand, which is exactly what the Mustangs will be doing this Saturday at Alumni Hall.

The Gaels impress offensively, averaging a league second-best 72.1 points per game. Three of their starters – Jenny Wright, Emily Hazlett, and Liz Boag – all average double digits in scoring. The home team will respond with their own heavy hitters – Wolynski, Mackenzie Puklicz, and Maddy Horst - who each averaged in the doubles last weekend for a combined 79 points in the matchups between Ottawa and Carleton.

Though as impressive as Queen's scoring is, their rebounding is equally on point. The Gaels have the second best rebounding average in the league, taking down 43.2 per game. It will be important for Western's bigs – like Samardzija and Victoria Heine - to get out in front and battle hard for post positions to try and stifle the Gaels' game.