THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Following a pair of victories over the Waterloo Warriors and the Guelph Gryphons this past weekend in Alumni Hall, the Western women's basketball team will be back on the road this weekend for a pair of meetings against the Lakehead Thunderwolves in Thunder Bay.

The victories moved the Mustangs into seventh place in the OUA West division standings with a 5-11 record on the season. After suffering a string of injuries to their starters to begin the season, the purple and white are now enjoying a four-game winning streak after maintaining some semblance of health in the new year.

The two most recent victories came in a pair of fairly closely contested games against the Warriors and Gryphons, as they took down Waterloo 64-58 before defeating Guelph 70-66 the following night.
Laura Graham, who's had a breakout season in her fourth year with the team, led the way for the purple and white on the weekend, scoring 15 and 23 points on Friday and Saturday night while anchoring the defence along the way.

However, this weekend will prove to be the Mustangs' biggest challenge of the new year, as Western will be going up against a Lakehead team that's proven to be one of the OUA's elite. The Thunderwolves currently hold a 12-4 record on the season, good enough for second in the OUA West division standings.

The Thunderwolves have built up their impressive record due to one of the most efficient styles of play in nearly every facet of the game. Lakehead sits top-five in the province in both assists and fewest turnovers, taking care of the ball on nearly every possession with a disciplined passing display. This ability to move the ball and make smart decisions has also led to the Thunderwolves earning more open shots than almost any other team in their conference. To this point in the season, Lakehead sits third in the OUA in both FG% and 3PT%, shooting with efficiency from all areas of the floor.

On the other side of the floor, Lakehead has been elite all season at sparking turnovers, sitting first in the OUA in steals per game. This ability to disrupt ball handlers could prove detrimental to a Western team that's had trouble limiting their turnovers throughout the first half of the season.

However, while Western has surged as of late, Lakehead has looked as though they've lost their focus and discipline throughout their past three games. The Thunderwolves are currently riding a three-game losing streak after kicking off the season with a 12-1 record, most recently losing a pair of tight games against the OUA West-leading McMaster Marauders.

But despite their recent cold streak, Lakehead will always be a threat to dominate a game as long as Leashja Grant is involved. After dominating last season, Grant hasn't slowed down in the slightest, as she leads the province in points per game (21.4), points per 40 minutes (32.0), and rebounds per game (12.9).

If the Mustangs hope to walk away from this weekend with a pair of victories, then they'll have to keep Grant and the rest of the Thunderwolves off the offensive boards, a task they've struggled with against less competitive teams this season.

The games are scheduled to tip off at 6:00 P.M. EST on both Friday and Saturday evening in Thunder Bay and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.