LONDON, Ont. – Despite 17 points from fifth-year guard Meredith McLeod, the Western Mustangs closed out the 2016 portion of the regular season with a 70-57 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues at the Goldring Centre on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Mustangs will drop to 5-3 on the season and will remain in third place in the OUA West Division. The Varsity Blues win moves them to a 4-4 on the year, good for third in an extremely competitive East Division.

McLeod took the reins early against the Varsity Blues and helped to keep the team within striking distance. McLeod was efficient all night long as she poured in her 17 points while going 6-7 from the field and 3-4 from behind the arc in a losing effort.

Two other players were scored in the double digits for the purple and white as Mackenzie Puklicz scored 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and five steals while Victoria Heine notched herself yet another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Mustangs played well to start the game and shot the ball with impressive efficiency in the first half. Western went 9-17 in the first half and shot an astounding 55% from three-point range in the first half, but struggled to maintain possession with 17 turnovers in the first two frames. Toronto had opposite struggles to start the game, as the team couldn't seem to connect on their jump shots, but a solid performance on defence would keep them within just one point with the Mustangs leading 32-31 after two quarters.

The second half proved to be a different story for Western, as the team seemed to lose their touch from beyond the arc, going 1-10 from three-point range. The team continued to shoot well from inside, but Toronto dominated the boards while creating a total of 33 turnovers in the game. Although the two teams entered the second half with only a point between them, the Varsity Blues controlled the scoreboard in the third quarter, outscoring the Mustangs 27-13. The fourth quarter was a more evenly contested affair with both teams scoring 12 points, allowing Toronto to claim a 70-57 win.

The Mustangs will be back to regular season action after the winter break on Friday, January 6 as they will host the Queen's Gaels. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m. and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv