ST. CATHERINES, Ont. – With a 62-62 score and 15 seconds on the clock, Mackenzie Puklicz came through in the clutch, sinking a jump shot that proved to be the game winner and allowed the Western Mustangs to beat the Brock Badgers 66-62 on Wednesday night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
 
Heading into the contest, the Mustangs and the Badgers had matching 6-3 records and both held second place in their respective divisions. Western's win moves the team into a tie with Windsor for first place in the OUA West, with the Mustangs also holding a game in hand on the Lancers.
 
The Badgers maintain their second place position in the OUA Central. They trail behind Western's next opponent, the McMaster Marauders, who sit in first place with 16 points.
 
With only a minute left the game the two teams exchanged baskets, with Victoria Heine sinking a three to put Western up before Brock's top scorer Melissa Tatti tied the game with 27 seconds left. Puklicz played the hero 12 second later, hitting a jump shot to give Western a 64-62 lead. Maddy Horst then hit a pair of free throws in the dying seconds to secure the 66-62 win.
 
Despite the fact that Wednesday was arguably one of the most intense for each team this season, the players were able to stay calm when they stepped up for free throws. The Mustangs sunk 12 of their 13 foul shots, and the Badgers connected on 20 of their 21 attempts. 
 
Puklicz, went three for three for foul shots and was also the game's top scorer with 18 points on the night. Following closely behind were Caroline Wolynski with 17, and Victoria Heine with 14. Julia Curran led the defence, grabbing a big 13 rebounds for the purple and white.
 
On the home team's end, Chrissy Sirgnano led with 15 points. Kira Cornelissen and Melissa Tatti also scored double digits, netting 12 and 10 respectively.
 
Purple and white fans anticipated a tough match on Wednesday night, and from the tip-off, the Badgers delivered. Tough play in the first quarter allowed for each team to tally just eight points aside. The second set of 10 minutes played out in a similar fashion, with Brock holding a slight edge with a 31-30 lead at halftime.
 
Despite the Mustangs' accuracy, which was 41.4% compared the to Badgers 27.9% by the end of the match, the Badgers maintained their lead at the end of the third quarter with a 50-48 score.

The stage was set for an exciting final ten minutes of play and both sides certainly delivered on that promise, with the Badgers holding a slight edge until the final two minutes of the game. With Brock up by five with just under two minutes to go, Western took control and the final minute made all the difference, giving Western the 66-62 win.
 
Next up for the Mustangs is a trip to Hamilton to face the McMaster Marauders on Saturday, January 23 at 1 p.m. The Mustangs hope to add to their four game winning streak while the Marauders hope to add to their five game streak, so the match is sure to be a good one. Catch the action live on OUA.tv.