LONDON, Ont. - First-year guard Nelli Larjava scored a team-high 10 points to lead the Western women's basketball team in a 79-50 loss to the Carleton Ravens on Friday evening in Alumni Hall.

With the loss, the Mustangs drop to 1-4 on the season and remain in fifth place in a competitive OUA West division. The Ravens' win improves their record to a perfect 4-0 on the season as they remain atop the OUA East division.

"Although we lost, I think tonight was another good opportunity for myself and some of the other rookies to get more comfortable with the offence and I think we did that tonight," said Larjava. "We have a lot of injuries to great players right now, so getting into the flow of our offence can be a struggle. It takes time to be able to play with one another with so many new faces on the team, so it's a work in progress."

"I think at the end of the day, we just try to come with resolve to each and every game, meaning we're focused, disciplined, doing what we're supposed to do, and doing it to the best of our abilities," said Mustangs head coach Brian Cheng. "I think tonight we were forced out of showing the best we have to offer, but all of our players gave full effort and, for a young team, sometimes that's all you can ask for against such an experienced roster like Carleton's. We made some young mistakes, but that's apart of the process."

Carleton showed why they boast one of the OUA's most effective defences to kick off the first half, forcing Western into a string of turnovers and applying constant pressure to the purple and white. The Mustangs had trouble moving the ball against the staunch perimeter defence and, as a result, forced themselves into low-percentage shots at the end of the shot clock. However, constant energy on the other end of the floor helped keep Western in the game, trailing 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The Ravens quickly extended their lead to begin the second quarter behind the three-point shot, but the Mustangs continued to hang around behind the offence of Emma Thompson and Laura Graham. However, an offensive drought to end the half left Western trailing 36-24 heading into halftime.

Western opened the second half with a pair of three pointers to help trim the deficit while persistent defence on the other end held Carleton scoreless for the opening minutes of the third quarter. Johnson continued her attack midway through the third quarter, earning contested points in the paint to keep Western's offence afloat. However, yet another dry spell to conclude the quarter left the Mustangs facing a 53-42 deficit heading into the final quarter of play.

But despite Western's effort through the first three quarters, Carleton quickly blew the game open in the fourth, moving the ball with purpose and burning the Mustangs in their half-court offence. The Ravens continued to run their offence to perfection for the remainder of the frame as they cruised to the eventual 79-50 victory.

"Looking ahead to tomorrow night's game, we have to just let go of tonight and focus on the future," said Cheng. "We just have to learn as many lessons as possible from tonight's game and try to apply them against Ottawa. That's the process; we digest everything from this game and move on."

The Mustangs will be back in action to host the Ottawa Gee-Gees tomorrow evening in Alumni Hall. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 P.M. EST and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.