Box Score LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year guard Laura Graham scored a team-high 15 points to help lead the Western women's basketball team to a 51-45 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday evening in Alumni Hall.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to a 3-11 record on the regular season as they remain in ninth place in the OUA West division standings. The Thunderbirds' loss drops their record to 4-10, dropping them into seventh place in the OUA West division.

"It's so good to have a couple more veterans back on the floor in Julia [Curran] and Maddy [Horst], they bring a lot of experience to our younger players so they were a huge part of the win tonight," said Graham. "The rookies have been doing a great job so far for us, but it's always nice to have a couple more leaders out there to keep our defensive flow going."

"As good as it is to be able to bring back a couple of our key players, I think we can't look past how good of a job Laura's done at leading this team and how well our rookies have adjusted to the speed of the game," said Mustangs' head coach Brian Cheng. "Laura is such a team player, she just fits into any role she's given. She was asked to be a leader this year and she's done so consistently. Now, we'll need her to help build that chemistry between the young players and our returning players on both ends of the floor."

Fellow guard Emma Johnson also scored in double figures for the purple and white in the victory, putting up 11 points to go along with an incredible five steals.

Algoma was led by Katrina Cole, who poured in a game-high 17 points in the loss.

The game proved to be a defensive battle through the opening minutes of the game, as both teams struggled to find their footing, turning the ball over with regularity. However, Graham would quickly help get the Mustangs back on track, scoring a handful of quick points to give Western the slight lead late in the quarter. A strong defensive run led by Graham and Julia Curran allowed the purple and white to head into the second with a 15-7 lead.

The defence continued to lead the way for Western throughout the second frame, forcing Algoma's defence into turnovers and earning fast break layups on the other end of the floor. However, a string of free throw opportunities allowed the Thunderbirds to stop the clock and earn their way back into the game as the Mustangs went into halftime with a slim 21-18 lead.

The threes began to flow for both teams to kick off the second half, with both sides knocking down a pair within the first couple minutes. The Thunderbirds eventually look the lead thanks to their long range shooting, but turnovers once again allowed the Mustangs to get out and run, retaking the lead through the fast break. Maddy Horst facilitated the offence for the remainder of the quarter, finding cutters with ease and pushing Western into a slim 37-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter continued to be a defensive exhibition from both teams, but Western's ability to score in the paint in the final quarter of play helped maintain a slim lead midway through the fourth. The ball movement picked up late in the fourth for the Mustangs, as they swung the ball with purpose and earned quality looks down the stretch. Algoma's turnovers continued to haunt them until the final buzzer, as Western's defence ultimately carried them to the 51-45 victory.

"Maddy and Julia make such a big difference for us on the defensive end of the floor, but it was really a team effort tonight, everybody stepped up," said Graham. "With Julia controlling the inside, it makes it a lot easier to defend the three-point line because we know she'll be there to help. I think we have a lot of potential with a more complete lineup, our chemistry is already flowing and we're finding a lot of production on the court from a lot of different players. It's exciting."

"We obviously want to walk before we can run, but I think this weekend showed us what we're capable of," said Cheng. "Because we had such an injured-ridden lineup, the entire first-half of the season was almost like our preseason. We worked out a lot of kinks, developed our young players, and now we're starting to piece something together. But, again, it's all about taking it one game at a time."

The Mustangs will be back in action this Friday, January 18, where they will host the Waterloo Warriors in their first meeting of the regular season in Alumni Hall. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 P.M. EST and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.