The Mustangs kick off the post-season campaign for the Critelli Cup on Wednesday, hitting the road and heading to Guelph for a first-round matchup.
 
Western closed out their season with a loss to the Gryphons (85-76), bringing the purple and white record to 13-11 to finish fifth in the OUA West.
 
The game was tightly contested from the start, with the Gryphons not able to pull ahead until the third quarter thanks to Skyla Minaker. The rookie scored 14 points in 10 minutes to lead what would become a 32-point quarter for the Gryphons.
 
Looking back at the season as a whole, Mackenzie Puklicz and Julia Curran have helmed the offensive effort with Puklicz leading in scoring and Curran dominating on the boards.
 
Puklicz, a London product who came up through the Ramblers program, has been one of the most effective athletes on the roster since first arriving at Western. This season saw her average 18 points per game, totalling 431 throughout the season. Meanwhile, Curran leads the team in offensive rebounds, averaging 3.7 while being the second highest scoring Mustang with 12.4 points per game.
 
Defensively speaking, Puklicz and Heine reign over the purple and white roster. They average a respective 5.8 and 5.1 rebounds per game.
 
Wednesday, February 21 – 7:00 pm at Guelph – Tune in LIVE on OUA.tv and Radio Western 94.9 FM
 
The Gryphons ended the regular season just ahead of the Mustangs in fourth in the OUA standings, with a 14-10 record.
 
Guelph will be on the hunt for their sixth straight win, having not lost since falling to McMaster on January 27.
 
Western and Guelph have faced off twice this season, splitting the season series 1-1. January saw Western earn a 64-58 victory on home court, while the season ended with Guelph winning an 85-76 decision.
 
Taking into consideration the narrow margin of victory in both contests, one factor that could decide Wednesday's contest is the Gryphons success at the free throw line. The Mustangs lead the OUA with 13.5 fouls per game, which gives the Gryphons plenty of additional chances to bring up the score, as they rank third in the OUA with a 71.8 percent success rate on free throws – typically making around 13 per game.
 
 
The Gryphons roster averages 68.6 points per game, led by junior guard Sarah Holmes. She wasn't on the floor the first time the two teams met on the court as she missed 11 games in the middle of the season, but led the team with 25 points in their win over Western on February 17.
 
Holmes averages 11.6 points per game, and is also the team's top defensive rebounder with 5.7 boards per contest.
 
Burke Bechard is the second highest scoring Gryphon (10.8), and leads the team in offensive rebounds. She grabs an average of 2.4 per game to helm Guelph's efforts on the offensive glass.