SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Second-year forward
Julia Curran led the Mustangs in scoring for the second straight night as she tallied a game-high 16 points to help Western earn a 74-51 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday night at the George Leach Centre.
With the win, the Mustangs snapped their nine-game losing streak, and improve to 6-10 on the season to move into sole possession of third place in the OUA West Division. Algoma remains in fifth in the West, falling to 2-14 on the year.
After dropping 16 points in the first game of the back-to-back against the Thunderbirds on Friday, Curran showed no signs of slowing down in the Mustangs' rematch as she went an efficient 4-7 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line, while also adding four rebounds on the night.
Two other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white as
Victoria Heine tallied 14 points on 6-7 shooting while
Mackenzie Puklicz added 12 points and seven rebounds to help the Western cause.
After struggling to get their shots to fall on Friday, the Western offence was ignited early by the team's ability to connect on open jump shots initiated by good ball movement. The Mustangs found a way to draw fouls early by staying aggressive and earned their points at the free throw line throughout the opening frame, taking a 15-10 lead after the first.
Western continued to grow their lead in the second quarter, as first-year guard
Jade Codinera once again hounded the opposing offence, creating turnovers and sparking a scoring run for the purple and white on their way to a 34-22 lead at halftime.
From there, the Mustangs simply never looked back, as they grew their lead to a 20-point margin midway through the third quarter and keeping the game out of reach from the Thunderbirds.
Western was locked in from the opening tip on both ends of the floor, as the Mustangs forced 20 turnovers and recorded 15 assists in the game. The lead would get as high as 30 before the final buzzer with the Mustangs walking away with a 74-51 victory.
The Mustangs will be back in action this Wednesday, February 8, when they host the Waterloo Warriors at Alumni Hall. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m. and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.
