LONDON, Ont. - First-year forward Brett Fischer scored a team-high 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds to help lift the Western women's basketball team to a 70-67 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday evening in Alumni Hall.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to a 2-11 record on the season as they remain in ninth in the OUA West division standings. The Thunderbirds' loss drops their record to 4-9 on the season, as they remain in fifth in the OUA West division standings.

Fischer, who was going up against her sister, Sawyer, a forward for the Thunderbirds, put on a show in the family affair, dominating on the defensive end and earning a pair of blocks to go along with her scoring output.

Three other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white in the victory, as Laura Graham and Emma Johnson each chipped in 14 points while Julia Curran, who was returning to action alongside her teammate, Maddy Horst, for the first time since the beginning of the season, scored 11 points and collected six rebounds on the night.

"It felt so good to be back out on the floor with my teammates, especially in a win, and I know Maddy felt the same way," said Curran. "It's still a challenge to adjust to the speed of the game after being out for so long and obviously we have a long way to go, but this was a really promising game for us to return in."

Algoma was led by Karly Fracalanza, who tallied a game-high 18 points to go along with seven rebounds in the loss.

With Curran and Horst playing limited minutes throughout the first half, Fischer was asked to step up accordingly and she certainly didn't disappoint, scoring seven points and securing six rebounds through the first two frames to help the purple and white narrowly win the rebounding battle.

However, despite returning from an injury which sidelined her for most of the season thus far, Curran also proved to be productive through the first two quarters in limited minutes, scoring a game-high nine points to help push Western towards a 34-28 lead at halftime.

Nevertheless, the Thunderbirds struck a comeback from beyond the arc to kick off the second half, knocking down a high percentage of their three-point attempts and shooting their way back into the game behind the play of Fracalanza. However, the Mustangs would eventually regain their footing defensively, closing out the quarter with a run of their own and heading into the fourth with a comfortable 52-43 advantage.

Francalanza continued her dominance throughout the final quarter of play, battling in the post, rebounding with tenacity, and seemingly willing her team back into the game.

However, one final scoring output from Johnson and Graham would be enough to hold off Algoma's comeback attempt, helping Western break their 10-game losing streak with a 70-67 victory.

"I think when we're all healthy and able to be out there together, these are the types of performances we're capable of," said Curran. "It's been a disappointing first half of the season, but there's a long way to go, and if we can rehab properly and keep working with our young players, we could surprise a lot of teams."

The Mustangs will be back in action this Saturday, January 12, where they will once again host the Algoma Thunderbirds in their final meeting of the regular season. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 P.M. and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.