Heading into the weekend with a nine-game winning streak on the books, the Western Mustangs hit the road in hopes of improving their already impressive 12-3 record and maintaining their reign over OUA West.

On Friday, the Mustangs will put their nine game winning streak on the line as they meet with the East's top team and Western's longstanding rival - the Queen's Gales. The following day, the Mustangs head to Toronto to face the York Lions. While they may be at the bottom of the OUA East, head coach Brian Cheng has previously emphasized the importance of not getting complacent.

Mackenzie Puklicz, as one of the nation's top offensive players, leads the Mustangs to bring in 19.1 points per match. Captain Caroline Wolynski is the second top scorer for the purple and white, contributing 12.9, while second-year guard Maddy Horst rounds out the purple and white offensive threat with 11.6 points per game.

In terms of ball control, Western tops the CIS in steals with 11.8 per game. Wolynski leads the by robbing opponents of 2.5 balls per game. Fellow top scorers Puklicz and Horst follow with 2.1 each. For rebounds, first-year Julia Curran continues to lead with an average of 7.8, with four coming from offensive grabs and 3.8 coming from defensive. Third-year Victoria Heine is next with 6.6 grabs at the glass, 2.5 from the offensive end, and 4.1 from the defensive side.

Western at Queen's - Friday, February 12 at 6 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv

Like the Mustangs, the Queen's Gaels are coming out of the weekend with back-to-back wins. The Gaels also closely mirror the purple and white record, taking 11 of their 14 games to lead the East.

Leading the team to victory has been fifth-year Jenny Wright, who tallies 11.7 points per match. New Brunswick native Emily Hazlett follows Wright with 10.1 points on average. Finally, Abby Dixon and Robyn Pearson are narrowly missing the double digit mark as both average 9.9.

Pearson may not average double digits when it comes to points, but she is a force to be reckoned with under the basket. The 6'0'' fourth-year student leads the CIS in rebounds per game, bringing in 11.4, with more than seven of those coming from the offensive end.

With Andrea Priamo averaging 6.4 rebounds and Wright's 5.9 factored into the equation, Queen's becomes the sixth best rebounding team in the CIS.

With just five games left including matches against tough teams like Western, Windsor, and Ryerson, the Gaels will see if they can keep top spot in the OUA East as they head towards playoffs.

Western at York - Saturday, February 13 at 6 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv

The York Lions are stuck in a losing streak and have been unable to pick up a win since the New Year. Heading into the weekend the Lions sit in the bottom of the East with a 2-14 record.

However, York's record may not tell the whole story. Their second win of the season came against the 7-8 Laurier Golden Hawks, proving that the Lions may have a few tricks up their sleeve.

Ishanaa Seupersadsingh will be the offensive player to watch on Saturday, as she led the Lions to victory in their win against the Golden Hawks and has consistently been York's strongest performer. The only Lion to average double digits, she picks up 11.4 points per game. Katrina Collins-Samuels, one of the shortest York players at 5-6, follows with eight points a game.

Fourth-year kinesiology students Taylor Ross and Emma Thompson lead the York defense averaging 3.8 and 3.5 rebounds per game. Point leader Seupersadsingh also pulls her weight on the defensive end, leading the Lions with two steals per game.

With their victory over the Golden Hawks Yorks has proven that they can take on teams with more impressive records and come out on top. Next weekend's matches against the Windsor Lancers and the Western Mustangs might be their next opportunity to prove their dark horse status and establish themselves as a threat.