LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year guard Mackenzie Puklicz scored a season-high 34 points to lead the Western Mustangs women's basketball team to an 89-74 win over the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday evening in North Bay.
 
After dropping 24 points in their victory over Laurentian last night, Puklicz continued her scoring display by adding another 34 to the box score tonight en route to the 15-point win. The Mustang senior helped spread the floor as well for the purple and white as she hit six threes in the contest.
 
Victoria Heine also had her best game of the year to date, putting up 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the win. Julia Curran also had a strong game as she contributed 15 points on 5-9 shooting.
 
Despite the double-digit win, the game was much closer than the score would indicate. After the Mustangs got off to a strong start by outscoring their opponents 22-14 in the first quarter, the Lakers went on a run in the second led by Nipissing's starting shooting guard Claire Abbott. Abbott would keep her team afloat throughout the entire game and made a clutch layup to tie the game with just seven minutes left in the contest.
 
Unfortunately for the home side, that was as close as things would get. The Mustangs finished the fourth by outscoring their opponents 26-16 in the quarter to secure the 89-74 win.
 
Lakers' guard Claire Abbott ended up having a career-night, as she matched Puklicz scoring output with 34 of her own while adding four steals on the defensive end.
 
With the win, the Mustangs remain undefeated through their first two weeks of the season with a 3-0 record. The Lakers' loss will put them at 0-2 on the season, as they will look to move up the standings in the OUA North Division with a win next week.
 
The Mustangs will back in action on Friday, November 18, as they travel to Thunder Bay to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The game is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.