LONDON, Ont. – Decked in pink to Shoot for the Cure against breast cancer, the Western Mustangs women's basketball team shot 50% from the field for a 69-54 victory over the York Lions at Alumni Hall on Friday night.

It's the second straight win for the team, who competed in front of a boisterous Mustang Days home crowd. The Mustangs now improve to 5-9 on the season to hold on to third place in the OUA West Division. York, meanwhile, falls to 2-12 for the last spot in the OUA East.

Victoria Heine broke out offensively by putting up a career-high 21 points. Her dominant and assertive presence in the offensive zones gave her five trips to the foul line which converted into seven good free throw baskets. This dominance was coupled with seven field goals made at an 88% shooting percentage.

"I think that's a testament to type of player she is and all that hard work she's been putting in," Head Coach Brian Cheng said of Heine. "It's starting to pay off."

Heine's efforts were helped by Maddy Horst who tallied 16 points and led the team with six rebounds. Mackenzie Puklicz followed closely with 15 points, her seventh game in a row reaching double digits to now average 12.9 points per game.
The Lions came out fast and hard to start the game, converting points on their first two possessions. The pace of the game slowed down when Horst conjured up a spin move off her defender for a clean –looking jumper. York would remain tight against the Mustangs thanks to York's Isanaa Seupersadsin, who quickly ran the ball down the court to Taylor Ross for a layup to give the Lions a slight 15-14 edge over the Mustangs at the buzzer.

Into the second quarter, the Mustangs livened up in the offensive zone, exchanging hands quickly around the edges to keep the Lions on their toes defensively. Though it would be remiss to not mention the purple and white defence forcing five turnovers to help Heine, Horst, and Puklicz put together a 14-2 run that helped take a 32-25 lead into halftime.

York amassed their foul limit by the middle of the third quarter, which worked mostly in the favour of the Mustangs who drew seven personal fouls total, and picked up nine points on free throws. The Mustangs kept a healthy lead against the Lions throughout the quarter, despite losing Puklicz for considerable time as she took a hard foul from York's Hayley Finn.

In the fourth, Heine continued to make herself available in the post for easy layups, helping her accrue the six points that pushed her in the 20-point territory. A strong output from the bench maintained the Lions deficit for the eventual 69-54 victory.
While he says the win has created a positive buzz for his squad, Coach Cheng remains humble and is keeping his team focused on what lies ahead.

"We can't rest on our laurels and we can't wallow in defeat. That's resolve. And that's the principles of who we are. We enjoy our wins, but we also move on to the next one."

Western is at home again tomorrow for the last match of a five-game home stand against rival Queen's. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be watched live on OUA.tv.