LONDON, Ont. – The typically purple and white Mustangs were dressed in full pink uniforms on Saturday afternoon when they defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 77-60 in Western's annual Shoot for the Cure game at Alumni Hall.
 
The win marks Western's seventh consecutive victory and keeps them in sole possession of first place in the OUA West with a 10-3 record, two points of the five-time defending CIS Champion Windsor Lancers. The loss keeps Laurier in third in the division with a 6-7 record.
 
Second-year guard Maddy Horst, who contributed nine points and five assists on Saturday, commented on what's driven the team's success during their winning streak.
 
"We're just a very hardworking team," said Horst. "Making sure that that's consistent I think is what's gotten us that success so far."
 
Mackenzie Puklicz was the top-scorer yet again for the home team, notching 32 points off of 11-19 field goal shooting and a perfect 8-8 at the free throw line. Her point total against the Golden Hawks is the second-highest single game mark of her CIS career, coming second only to a 36 point effort against Toronto earlier this season.
 
First-year forward Julia Curran was the next top-scorer with 12 points. She also managed to grab 10 rebounds to earn herself a double-double in the win. Captain Caroline Wolynski was also key at the basket, leading the team in rebounds with 11.
 
For the Golden Hawks, four different players achieved double digits on the scoreboard. Nicole Morrison led with 16, followed by Kaitlyn Schenck and Heather Payne with 12 each, and Sarah Dillon with 11.
 
After missing Wednesday's game against the Warriors, Puklicz marked her return by sinking the first basket of the game, a three-pointer just 21 seconds in. She proceeded connect on every shot she took in the quarter, contributing 10 of the Mustangs' 20 points. After a three-pointer at the buzzer by Morrison, the quarter ended with the home side up 20-12.
 
Western's superior shooting helped widen their lead in the second quarter, as the Mustangs outshot their opponents 39.5% to 27.8% to take a 37-24 lead into the half.
 
Moving into the second half, Laurier managed to out-score Western in the third frame, tallying 24 points to Western's 22, but it wasn't enough to end the Mustang lead.
 
"We left open their shooters. They're a very good team at shooting," said Puklicz. "For some of them that's all we can do, and we just didn't respect that."
 
With a score of 59-48 heading into the last ten minutes, the Golden Hawks attempted to make a comeback. However, the Mustangs outscored their opponents 18-12 in the final quarter, including holding them off the board completely for the final two minutes of the game, to walk away with a 77-60 win.
 
Western has just under a week to prepare for their next pair of games, which will both be at home. They face the Nipissing Lakers on Friday, February 5 and the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday, February 6. Tip-off for both games is set for 6 p.m. at Alumni Hall and can be seen live on OUA.tv.