LONDON, Ont. – Second-year guard Laura Graham scored 13 points to help lead the Western Mustangs women's basketball team to a 58-45 victory over the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday evening in Alumni Hall.
"We had our adjustments, and Guelph couldn't deal very well with them and we just went on a run. I think when our group gets in a groove we're pretty hard to play against," said Western head coach Brian Cheng, referencing his team's difference in performance in the second half.
Hoping to begin their season with a win at home, the Mustangs were carried by Graham's relentless defence in the first half along with her 13 points. Graham added more than just points to the box score, grabbing six rebounds to add to Western's rebound total.
"She's growing as a point guard each and every day," said Cheng. "She's becoming one of the better point guards in the OUA. She always has the toughest defensive matchups, she defends bigs, she plays bigger than she is, she drives to the paint and she rebounds the ball extremely well. The things that Laura does are far-reaching for us."
Two other Mustangs ended with double figures in scoring on the night. Fourth-year guard Mackenzie Puklicz scored 19 points while second-year forward Julia Curran scored 12 points to go along with nine rebounds in the victory.
Despite the strong performances for Western, the Mustangs found themselves up only three points at the half while turning the ball over 16 times throughout the game. But despite the sloppy play early, the Mustangs pulled away in the second half. Defence led the way for the remainder of the game, as they held the Gryphons to 23 per cent shooting from the field in the final half of the game.
Even after an impressive win, the Mustangs were missing the presence of third-year guard Maddy Horst, who will miss the entire season due to injury. But despite the loss, coach Cheng acknowledged how Horst is still a large part of the team.
"Maddie is such a wonderful person," he said. "Her leadership means so much, and she's a leader through and through.
"It's awesome that Maddy is still here. She's there every practice and every game cheering us on and giving us advice. She'll be back next year so we're looking forward to that, but this year she's just a very supportive person on the bench, and we need that," said Graham, echoing her coach's praise for Horst.
The Mustangs will be back in action this Friday, November 11 as they will be travelling to Sudbury to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
