LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs women's basketball team had the upper hand in the first quarter, but they were unable to hold on to the lead, as the Ryerson Rams claimed an 84-70 win on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
 
"I thought we played hard. I didn't think we played smart for all forty minutes, I think we were disorganized at times, and we lacked leadership at times," said Western head coach, Brian Cheng.
 
The loss was Western's first of the season. They now have a record of 4-1 and are tied with Windsor for first place in the OUA West Division. The Rams now have a record of 4-1 and are right below the Queen's Golden Gaels.
 
Mackenzie Puklicz was Western's top scorer of the night, registering 17 points in the loss. Caroline Wolynski was close behind with 14, while second-year guard Maddy Horst rounded out the Mustangs who scored in double digits with 11 points.
 
Sofia Paska led all players with 23 points, while Silvana Jez and Keneca Pinque-Giles also made an impact with 18 and 17 points respectively. Paska also led all rebounders in the contest with nine boards.
 
The Mustangs played strong from the tip-off. In the first quarter, the Mustangs outshot their opposition, connecting on 47.4% of their total field goals, compared to a 29.4% mark for the Rams. Wolynski contributed six of Western's 20 points in the frame along with making strong plays on the defensive end.
 
Mackenzie Puklicz and Maddy Horst also made it into the double digits. Puklicz was Western's top scorer of the night, scoring a total of 17 points including four foul shots, while Horst netted 11 including two three pointers.
 
Although the Mustangs entered the second frame with the lead their advantage didn't last long as less than three minutes into the second quarter the Rams managed to go ahead 21-20. Mustang Laura Graham made a layup to steal the lead back from the Rams, but a few seconds later, the away team got ahead and stayed ahead for the remainder of the game including a 40-31 lead at the half.
 
After both teams recorded 21 points in the third, the Mustangs entered the game's final quarter trailing the Rams 61-52.
 
Despite a solid push from the Mustangs in the fourth, Ryerson's strong rebounding and higher shooting percentage, which shot up to 47% compared to Western's 35.2% by the end of the match, kept the Rams in the lead and they walked away an 84-70 win.
 
"We definitely didn't play to our potential tonight," said Wolynski. "They killed us on the boards and ultimately that was enough to put us away."
 
Moving forward, Wolynski talked about what the team needs to do differently in order to get back on the winning train.
 
"Getting after the boards, we've got to get a press attack going, and I'll think we'll be just fine for UofT on Sunday," she said.
 
The Mustangs are back on their home court on Sunday, November 22 to face the Toronto Varsity Blues. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on OUA.tv.