LONDON, Ont. - For three quarters, the Western Mustangs women's basketball team stuck with the CIS number six ranked Laurier Golden Hawks, but couldn't break away with a strong lead as they fell 76-55 in the final home game of the regular season on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.
 
Though spirits were still high following the game as the team honoured fourth year guard Caroline Wolynski on Senior Day. The team's only senior, Wolynski was presented with flowers and video montage of her accomplishments on the team. This season, Wolynski has averaged 12.3 points per game and has been a nuisance to opposing teams with 41 steals. Head coach Brian Cheng credits Wolynski's hard work and tenacity for her success and finesse on the court.
 
"She leaves it on the line," he said. "The difference between a good player and a great player is consistency. And we know with Woly that she's going to lay it all on the line every night with heart, passion, energy, and determination."
 
Wolynski was once again in the pool of top scorers with 12 points on the night. Overall, Mackenzie Puklicz lead the Mustang with 15 points, and Maddy Horst chipped in 10. Victoria Heine led the team in rebounds with 12, which complemented her 9 point offensive effort. Whitney Ellenor led the Laurier offence with 25 points, while Nicole Morrison added 23.
 
The loss puts Western's record at 6-13, good for third place in the OUA West Division. Laurier improves to 17-2 and remains in the second spot in the West.
 
Laurier's defence was relentless from the start, as they forced three shot clock violations on the Mustangs early in the game. Any opportunity to put a shot up around the key was quickly met with double teams and massive blocks from the long reach of Whitney Ellenor. But the Stangs soon adapted, by driving the ball in and kicking it back out to players hovering around the perimeter. This strategy led to successive scoring culminating with a Meredith McLeod 3-pointer that put the Mustangs within one point of the lead at the end of the quarter.
 
The Mustangs shot 44.8% in the first half - over 10% better than the Golden Hawks whose shots didn't seem to fall. The purple and white capitalized on these missed shots and turnovers to rile the crowd up and put up a 33-28 lead at the half.
 
Things changed, though, at the end of the third quarter and extending into the fourth when the Golden Hawks laid it on offensively by going on a 14-2 run, to change their status from down six points to lead by six. From there, the Stangs had trouble grabbing rebounds and getting through the rejuvenated Golden Hawk defence. For the fourth quarter, the Mustangs were out-scored 29-8, and Laurier's run down the stretch helped them walk away from this match with a 76-55.
 
Despite the tough loss, Coach Cheng was impressed with his team's ability to take easy looks and transitions away from their opponents, but was hoping for a stronger effort on the defensive rebound.
 
"Man to man or zone, wherever our defence was Laurier was still getting the rebounds," he said. "If we can shut that off, that's what gets us to the next level. We need to get the defensive rebound and have focus for forty minutes. We had that focus tonight, it just wasn't unified."
 
Wolynski, too, was happy with her team's effort and notes that it was an apt way to commemorate her final home game in a Mustang uniform.
 
"It's obviously a bit sad but it was a good game to end off with," she said. "They're number six in the country and we stayed with them for three quarters. It was a good game for us and I'm really proud of us. It was nice to have that as the last game we play at home."
 
Wolynski and the rest of the Mustangs will play their final game of the regular season on the road at Waterloo this Saturday. The match tips off at 1 p.m. and can be watched live on OUA.tv.