Coming off a big home court win against the Algoma Thunderbirds, the Mustangs are now preparing for a pair of tough games on the road. Western will first head to St. Catharines for Wednesday night action against the Brock Badgers before hitting the road again on Saturday to face the OUA Central's top ranked McMaster Marauders. 

The Mustangs currently have a 6-3 record, giving them the title of second place in OUA West. The 7-3 Windsor Lancers sit in first place with an additional game under their belt.

Mackenzie Puklicz's talent and hustle combine to keep her at the top of Western's scoresheet week after week, averaging 18.1 points per game. Captain Caroline Wolynski comes in just behind with 13.3 points, followed up by Maddy Horst who is just shy of double digits at 9.9 points per game.

After earning a double-double on Friday with 14 points and 14 rebounds, Victoria Heine has proven herself as a key player both offensively and defensively. She leads the Mustang defence with 7.4 rebounds per game. Julia Curran follows closely, averaging 7.3.

The Mustangs have two tough games ahead of them, but if they can improve on their rebounds and maintain tough defence like Heine suggested following the game against Algoma, their three-game winning streak may extend to five.

Western vs. Brock - Wednesday, January 20 at 6 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv

After beating the Waterloo Warriors by 23 points last week, the Brock Badgers sit in second place in the OUA Central Division with a 6-3 record.

Brock's biggest scorer is the smallest player on the team, Melissa Tatti. Standing at just 5-4, Tatti scored 21 points against the Waterloo Warriors last week, contributing to her 12.3 points per game average. Almost a foot taller than the team's point leader, 6-2 Kira Cornelissen follows with an average of 11.3.

Cornelissen is also an asset for the Badgers on the defensive end, averaging 6.1 rebounds per game to put her behind only senior Kate Harpur, who leads the team at the glass with 8.3 rebounds.

Overall, the Badgers' have 37.1% field goal accuracy and average 68 points per game, numbers that fall a bit below Western's 41.8% accuracy and 72.7 point average. However, the Badgers surpass the Mustangs in rebounds with an average of 42.4 per game, just ahead of Western's 41.1 rebounds per contest. 

Wednesday's matchup will be the team's sole matchup of the regular season. Brock took last year's contest by an 80-72 score at Alumni Hall.

Western vs. McMaster - Saturday, January 23 at 1 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv

With 14 points in nine games, the Marauders are the number one team to beat in the OUA Central with a 7-2 record so far this season. Winning their last four contests, they'll be looking to extend their winning streak by taking down the surging Mustangs.

Within their past four matchups, the closest contest was with the Laurier Golden Hawks who ultimately fell by 19 points. The biggest win of their streak was over Waterloo, who the Marauders topped by 46 points.

Leading the team's success is Danielle Boiago, who is just shy of averaging 20 points per game with 19.3 points per outing. Three other Marauders consistently contribute double digits with Clare Kenney at 12.2, Linnaea Harper with 10.9, and Hilary Hanaka with 10.3.

Boiago and Kenney are number one and two, respectively, in scoring, and remain on top when it comes to rebounds. Kenney leads the team at the glass, grabbing an average of 9.8 rebounds per game. Boiago follows with a 7.4 average.

The McMaster Marauders have two games this week, which gives them the opportunity to turn their four-game winning streak into six. The team, which is currently ranked number six in the latest CIS Top 10, is set to first face the Windsor Lancers and the Western Mustangs at home.