HAMILTON, Ont. - McMaster guard Hilary Hanaka scored a game-high 20 points on an incredible 5-6 shooting from beyond the arc in a 66-44 victory over the Western Mustangs women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Burridge Gym.

With the loss, the Mustangs will move to 12-10 on the season as they remain in fourth place in the OUA West with just two games remaining in the regular season schedule. The Marauders' win gives them to an 18-4 record as they remain atop the OUA West standings heading towards the postseason.

Two Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white on the afternoon, as Mackenzie Puklicz led the team with 14 points, eight rebounds, and a pair of steals while Julia Curran put up an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Along with her impressive scoring display, Hanaka added six rebounds, two steals, and just one turnover in her 33 minutes of action against the purple and white.

The Marauders' offence looked sluggish to begin the game, giving up unforced turnovers and halting any momentum through the opening minutes. However, a pair of quick threes from McMaster midway through the frame would force the purple and white to play from behind as Western failed to find similar success from the field throughout the entire game. Hanaka scored eight points in the opening frame, leading the Marauders to a 12-9 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Curran used her height advantage early in the frame, scoring inside over smaller McMaster defenders as she tried to spark the Western offence alongside the ever-present scoring of Puklicz. However, the offence never truly found its footing for Western as the team failed to make a sustained run. The Mustangs' defence pulled together throughout the second frame, forcing the Marauders into contested shots and collecting rebounds off misses to stop McMaster from earning easy second-chance points. Western's defence played with incredible intensity throughout the remainder of the quarter, but McMaster's ability to shoot under pressure would allow them to head into halftime with a 27-21 lead.

The Mustangs struggled to convert on offence throughout the second half, while the long-range shots from the Marauders would continue to burn the Western defence to begin the third quarter. A prolonged scoring drought midway through the frame from Western gave McMaster the opening they needed to quickly extend their lead to double-digits. Western's interior defence continued to be spectacular throughout the frame, but an inability to stop perimeter shooters would allow McMaster to go into the fourth with a 50-32 lead.

The fourth quarter was much of the same for the purple and white, as Western shot just 30 percent from the field on the day and 3-17 from beyond the arc and 7-19 from the free throw line. Despite the effort on defence, the Marauders lead was simply too much to overcome as McMaster ultimately cruised to a 66-44 victory.

The Mustangs will be back in action this Wednesday, February 14 when they will host the 6-15 Brock Badgers for their second and final meeting of the season in Alumni Hall. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m. and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv and Radio Western 94.9 FM.