WATERLOO, Ont. – A 14-point performance from Maddy Horst led the Western Mustangs to their first victory of the season with a 48-42 win over the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday afternoon at the PAC Gym.
 
Horst's game leading effort came in only her second regular season contest after missing the entirety of last season due to injury. The Baden, Ont., native shot 4-10 from the field, including hitting three three-pointers, while also adding four rebounds and two assists against the Warriors.
 
Three other Mustangs finished just outside double digits in scoring as Mackzenie Puklicz, Victoria Heine, and Julia Curran all recorded nine points. Heine and Curran were also a force to be reckoned with on the glass, leading all players with 10 and 14 rebounds, respectively.
 
Sydney Wilson topped the Warriors score sheet with 11 points in the loss, and was closely followed by Ann Stewart and Afifa Salada who both recorded 10 points.
 
It was all Mustangs in the opening minutes of the contest, with Western jumping out to a 12-0 lead a little more than three minutes into the game. The Warriors then flipped the script on the Mustangs, going on a 7-0 run of their own to cut into Western's lead, before a pair of free throws from Horst gave the purple and white a 14-7 advantage heading into the second quarter.
 
Western only increased their lead in the second frame, starting things off with back-to-back three pointers from Heine and Horst to put the Mustangs up by 13. Heine played a big role in the Mustangs second quarter success, scoring seven points, while also grabbing four rebounds and making one block to help Western take a 33-13 lead into the half.
 
After the Mustangs controlled the scoreboard for the first 20 minutes of action things were much more even in the third quarter with the Warriors outscoring Western 12-11 in the frame. Both offences struggled to find their rhythm in the early going with the first basket not coming until nearly three minutes in. From there the teams would exchange baskets with Western holding a 44-25 lead entering the final quarter.
 
Despite trailing by 19 points the Warriors put forth a furious comeback in the last 10 minutes, led by eight points from Salad. Waterloo outscored Western 18-4 in the fourth, but the Mustangs early lead proved too much to overcome, with the purple and white taking a 48-43 win.
 
Next up for the Mustangs is the team's home opener set for Friday, November 3, against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Alumni Hall, and fans can tune in to all the action live on OUA.tv