LONDON, Ont. - After a pair of losses to the Lakehead Thunderwolves this past weekend on the road, the Western women's basketball team will be back in Alumni Hall for a meeting with the Laurier Golden Hawks before returning to the road for a matchup with the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton, Ontario.

This weekend proved to be a challenging one for the purple and white, as they went up against a Lakehead team now boasting an impressive 14-4 record, good enough for second in the OUA West division standings. The losses dropped Western to 5-13 on the season and eighth in the OUA West, but a win over Laurier this Wednesday could very well shift the standings in favour of the purple and white.

But despite holding a middling 7-11 record thus far, Laurier's defence has been extremely promising to this point in the season. The Golden Hawks currently lead the province in blocks per game, while holding opponents to just 34.6 FG% and 25.9 3PT%. Laurier has managed to hold opponents below 60 points seven times so far this season, a troubling sign for a Western team which has struggled to score in bunches all season long.

However, this Wednesday could very well prove to be a close yet low-scoring affair if the Golden Hawks continue to shoot so abysmally. Throughout their first 18 games of the season, Laurier's shot fewer threes than every other team in the province, and for good reason, as they average just 24.2 3PT% on the season. However, with a scoring average of just 61.1 points per game, it's been a challenge to score consistently from everywhere except the free throw line for the Golden Hawks. The team has been efficient all year long from the line and has relied heavily on their ability to draw fouls in order to get points on the board. However, this approach could very well prove to be a challenge against a Mustang team that's proven to have one of the most disciplined defences in the division in the second half of the season.

But if matching up against the Golden Hawks' defence is a challenge, then getting the best of the Marauders this weekend would be another feat itself.

McMaster currently sits atop the OUA West division with a dominant 15-3 record, and for good reason. The Marauders have been dominant all season long on both ends of the floor, ranking in the top ten in the province in literally every statistic aside from free throw attempts per game. The team currently leads the OUA in pace, three-pointers made, assists per game, and blocks per game, while ranking second in points per game, 3PT%, FT%, steals per game, and a bevvy of other statistics. Essentially, McMaster has been stellar all season long from all over the floor, perhaps summarized best by two statement wins against Lakehead this past month.

If Western hopes to keep the game within reach in front of a boisterous road crowd, they'll have to home in their defence on guards Sarah Gates and Hilary Hanaka. Gates and Hanaka currently average an impressive 16.4 and 15.1 points per game, while Hanaka leads the team in assists with 4.2 per game. Limiting the scoring of this dynamic backcourt will be a difficult challenge, but doing so could make the game interesting if the Mustangs enter Saturday relatively healthy.

Both games are scheduled to tip off at 6:00 P.M. EST and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.