LONDON, Ont. - Nikki Case dominated the pitch as she scored four tries to help lead the Western Mustangs to a 50-10 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday afternoon at

"We were really trying to focus on our defence and making smart decisions with the ball, and I think we accomplished that here today," said Mustangs' head coach John Weller. "The first half was a great battle; Toronto put up a strong fight, but I think our skill and determination really shined through in the second half and got us the win."

With the win, the Mustangs will now advance to the OUA consolation semifinals and will host the Trent Excalibur next weekend at Alumni Field, while Toronto will play for ninth place against the Waterloo Warriors.

Case, who has been a powerhouse on both sides of the ball this season, not only put up a team-high four tries on the day, but made multiple runs which put the team in prime scoring position.

"She's outstanding. She's been such a key player for us for the past four years and she's used to having the responsibility of having to put the team on her back sometimes. Today, she did just that," said Weller.

"The inside ball was open for me all game. Finding those gaps in the defence is so critical and I was able to find a few today and put some points up," said Case, describing how she picked up her four tries on Saturday. "The support out there from everyone was so important. It's great to have individual breaks, but communication between everyone out there is crucial to picking up those points."

The Mustangs started the game with purpose and urgency on the offensive side of the ball, as they controlled the play for the majority of the half. Case put the purple and white on the board with a huge run downfield, breaking tackles, and scoring the first try of the game to earn the team the early 5-0 lead. Toronto would respond with a try of their own not long after, but the Mustangs would punch in one more in the half to give them a 10-5 advantage after 40 minutes.

Case picked up right where she left off in the first half, breaking through the defence once again and making a huge run, with Landon Thompson finishing the run off with a try to extend the Mustang lead just two minutes into the second half. Case would put in three more tries throughout the half to allow Western to cruise to an eventual 50-10 victory.

"I felt as if we were able to take advantage of the opportunities we were given, and that's a big deal for us at this point of the season," said Weller. "Hopefully we'll be able to carry that over to the next match."

"It was a big win for us. I think our team finally came together as a unit; we have a lot of individual talent on our team, but I think we finally got together and played off of each other," said Case. "If we want to keep winning, we'll have to keep up that continuity."

The Mustangs will be back in action next Saturday, October 14, where they will take on the Trent Excalibur. Check back to westernmustangs.ca later this week when full details for the second round of the OUA playoffs are announced.