LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year guard Laura Graham scored a team-high 23 points and five rebounds to help lift the Western women's basketball team to their fourth-straight victory against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday evening in Alumni Hall.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to a 5-11 record on the regular season and move into sixth place in the OUA West division standings. The Gryphons' loss drops their record to an identical 5-11 record, as they remain in fifth in the OUA West division.

Three other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white on the evening, as Emma Johnson and Brett Fischer poured in 14 and 16 points, respectively, while Maddy Horst chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.

Guelph was led by Modupe Okeowo, who totaled a game-high 26 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals to help keep the game within reach with an enormous double-double.

"Waterloo rebounded really well against us and we knew Guelph was going to be crashing the offensive boards all night, so trying to slow that down was definitely a focus," said Graham. "We came in knowing that if we didn't box out, it'd be a close game all night and that's exactly what happened. Luckily, we were able to pull out the win, but we're going to continue to emphasize our rebounding."

"Keeping Guelph's rebounding in check is always one of our primary goals because they're elite at what they do," said Mustangs head coach Brian Cheng. "At the end of the day, we try to get the players to understand that there's always an opportunity for retribution. Guelph killed us on the boards earlier this season and left with a big win, but our players have built the mentality that there's always another chance to get better and they never stop trying to improve. That's a rare trait. I think the win tonight was a summary of their will to get better."

Guelph began the game doing what they've done all season long in controlling the offensive boards, earning themselves extra possessions and converting on easy chances in the paint. However, Western's ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc allowed them to stay in the game throughout the frame. Foul trouble began to hinder the Gryphons late in the quarter, as free throws pushed the Mustangs to a 16-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

Western found themselves suffering a scoring drought early in the quarter, but a pair of threes from Johnson and Horst helped maintain the Mustangs' slight lead midway through the frame. Guelph continued to muscle their way into the paint and found success in doing so, but a string of offensive rebounds from the purple and white left them heading into halftime with a 35-28 lead.

Western struggled to find quality shots and take care of the basketball early in the second half, turning the ball over with regularity and feeding into the Guelph fast break. However, the Mustangs would soon find their footing offensively, connecting once again from beyond the arc to maintain a slim lead. Graham's scoring output continued to lead the purple and white to conclude the quarter, scoring from seemingly every area of the floor and pushing Western to a 57-42 lead heading into the fourth.

Guelph's rebounding once again began to spark a comeback to begin the fourth quarter, cutting into the Western lead by securing second chances at the rim. A late three by Okeowo trimmed the lead down to just two points late in the fourth, but strong execution in the final two minutes from the purple and white allowed the Mustangs to escape with the 70-66 victory.

"This was a pretty sweet win for us after losing to Guelph earlier this year," said Graham. "I think we were eager to show everybody that if we were healthy to start the season, this could've been the outcome. We're still missing Julia [Curran], which is big, but hopefully, she'll be back soon and we can keep improving."

"I don't think we attacked enough midway through the fourth and that lack of urgency allowed them to claw themselves back in the game," said Cheng. "That press got to us and that was a huge momentum shift, but I think it says a lot about our players that we collected ourselves and got back to our game. That's not easy to do, but that's been our mentality all season: it's never over."

The Mustangs will be back in action this Friday, January 25, where they will travel to Thunder Bay to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves in their first meeting of the season. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 P.M. EST and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.