SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Fifth-year guard
Mackenzie Puklicz scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Western Mustangs to a 76-58 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday evening at the George Leach Centre.
With the win, the Mustangs will improve to a 9-8 record on the season as they overtake the Laurier Golden Hawks for fourth place in the OUA West division as they continue to battle for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Thunderbirds' loss will drop them to 2-15 on the season as they sit in eighth place in the OUA West division.
Puklicz not only led the team in points, but dropped in seven rebounds, a game-high seven assists, and five steals on the night, producing on both ends of the floor.
Four other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white on the evening, as
Laura Graham scored 10 points and wreaked havoc on the opposing offence with three steals and constant pressure.
Julia Curran and
Victoria Heine made the most of their height advantage over the Thunderbirds' defenders, scoring 13 and 11 points, respectively. Guard
Maddy Horst also had a stellar night, dropping 17 points in the win.
Algoma guard Jemerka Martin did her best to keep her team within reach for the majority of the game, scoring a team-high 17 points off the bench in the loss.
The Mustangs began the evening in a zone defence, daring a Thunderbirds team which has struggled from beyond the arc all season to beat them from three. However, after starting the game ice-cold from the field, Algoma found their rhythm from distance, knocking down shots and finding themselves with a lead midway through the quarter. Despite their success earlier in the quarter, the Thunderbirds would quickly come back down to earth while Graham and Puklicz sparked the Mustang offence to regain the lead for the purple and white as they headed into the second quarter with a 25-18 lead.
The Thunderbirds continued to find themselves with open looks to begin the second, but an inability to knock down shots consistently from deep would hinder the Algoma comeback. Western moved the ball with purpose throughout the quarter, forcing the Thunderbirds' defence to scramble and finding quality looks at the rim. However, Martin would keep her Algoma team afloat with her scoring effort, but a lack of consistency from the Thunderbirds would leave the Mustangs with a 40-27 lead heading into halftime.
Neither team was able to find any momentum to begin the third frame, as both Western and Algoma suffered sustained scoring droughts early in the second half. Algoma attempted to implement a full-court press midway through the frame, hoping to force turnovers and cut into the Western lead, but continued ball movement and good shot selection by the purple and white would allow them to break through the press and extend their lead to 53-41 heading into the fourth.
Western struggled to extend their point differential early in the fourth by allowing Algoma to grab offensive rebounds and earn easy baskets at the rim. However, the Mustangs would continue to score with ease on offence behind Horst's strong shooting. Western continued to find easy baskets by attacking the paint and simply dominating on the inside. Algoma, on the other hand, seemed to run out of gas on the offensive end, as the shots refused to drop while the dribble penetration remained at a minimum. The Mustangs continued to grow their point differential late in the fourth, as the purple and white walked away with a 76-58 win.
The Mustangs will be back in action Saturday, January 27, where they will remain in Sault Ste. Marie for their second of back-to-back meetings with the Thunderbirds. Game time is set for 6 p.m., and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv
