LONDON, Ont. - Fifth-year guard Mackenzie Puklicz topped the scoreboard with 16 points to go along with 12 rebounds and two assists in a double-double performance to help lead the Western Mustangs to a 58-42 comeback victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday evening in Alumni Hall.

With the win, the Mustangs will improve to a 6-5 record on the season, as they move above .500 and sit in fifth place in the OUA West division heading into the second half of the season. The Lakers' loss will drop them to 2-7 on the season, as they will remain at the bottom of the OUA East Division heading into the new year.

"We're usually pretty tough in the fourth quarter. We dig down and we find our energy reserves; it's kind of like a marathon runner hitting the runners-high. We usually have strong fourth quarters and tonight was a good response from the team," said Mustangs' head coach Brian Cheng on his team's fourth-quarter run. "We just kept on battling and we found the opportunities in the end."

Two other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white, as Julia Curran put up her second double-double of the weekend, notching 11 points to go along with 14 rebounds on the night. Maddy Horst helped jump-start the Western offence throughout the evening, as she put up 13 points on the night.

"Coming into the second half, we knew they were going to keep battling. I struggled a bit offensively yesterday, so I looked for my shots a bit more tonight, while still trying to find my teammates within the offence," said Horst, commenting on her performance. "When one of us isn't performing as well as we'd like to, you know that you'll always have those teammates that are ready to pick up the slack. It was a team win."

The Mustangs' offence found themselves going up against a zone defence early in the first quarter, a rare sight which seemed to unnerve Western to begin the game. Nipissing began the game with a pair of threes on their first two offensive possessions along with a fast break layup to give the Lakers a quick 8-0 run to begin the game.

However, the purple and white would quickly settle in with some strong defence of their own, creating turnovers and finding their offence through the fast break.

Despite the slow start for the purple and white, the Mustangs effort on the defensive end of the floor would ultimately pay dividends, as Western went into the second quarter with a 15-12 advantage.

Curran would continue her work on the boards to begin the quarter, creating a series of offensive chances for the purple and white. However, despite their chances, both teams had trouble finding the bottom of the basket throughout the frame and the game quickly became a defensive showdown.

The Lakers' jump shots began to drop late in the quarter, as the Mustangs' defence found itself scrambling to contest shooters. Despite the slow start to the second frame, a series of foul calls against Nipissing quickly allowed the Mustangs back into the game. Neither team would find a way to pull ahead in the first half, as Western found themselves heading into halftime with a slim 26-25 lead.

Western started the second half picking right where they left off on the offensive boards, as Deborah Kamba and Curran dominated in the paint through the opening minutes. However, the Lakers' offence began to find its footing in the third, knocking down jump shots with regularity and extending the Nipissing lead.

Nipissing's zone returned once again midway through the third to disrupt Western's interior scoring and keep the offence from finding consistent rhythm. However, a series of turnovers for the Lakers coupled with a short offensive run from the purple and white would cut the Nipissing lead to a slim 40-38 margin heading into the final quarter of play.

Both teams would face a scoring drought to start the fourth, as neither side would find a basket until midway through the frame, until a jump shot from Puklicz tied the game at 40-40. Puklicz would continue to lead the Western offence down the stretch after being relatively locked down through the first three frames.

Defence led the rest of the way for Western, as quick hands by the Mustangs forced turnovers and sparked the fast break. One final three from Puklicz would ultimately be too much for Nipissing to recover from late in the fourth, as Western extended their lead and cruised to an eventual 58-42 victory.

 "We've been slow at the start of games so far this season, but we're working hard at improving. We understand what we need to do going forward and this break in the season will allow us to put some fine-tuning into our game plan going into the second half," said Brian Cheng, looking at the changes his team will be looking to make heading into the new year.

The Mustangs will be back in action Friday, January 5 where they will enjoy a month-long break before returning to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks at home in Alumni Hall. The game is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. and fans can catch the action live at OUA.tv.

"In the second half of the season, we need to continue to work on our rebounding and pushing the pace. I think if we play our transition game, we're going to have success in the future," noted Horst.