Box Score SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The Mustangs women's basketball team won 70-59 against Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday evening. After their win over the Thunderbirds on Friday night, their second matchup of the doubleheader proved to be another success, bringing the Mustangs' regular season record to 3-1 and the Thunderbirds to 0-3.
 
The Thunderbirds came into the first quarter with more conviction than that of the night before. They established their determination early in, shutting down the Mustangs' layup attempts and applying pressure to force turnovers. While the Mustangs were able to put foul shots up on the board, the Thunderbirds proved to have more consistency with intelligent passes. At the 2:30 mark, Thais Matte of Algoma nailed her second three-pointer of the quarter with one second left on the clock, tying the score at 15-15. Two more threes from Matte would end the quarter at 21-19 Algoma, with Western points coming from Johnson, Curran, Fischer, and Bastedo.
 
The first half of the second quarter saw the dissipation of the Thunderbirds' lead. While Algoma continued to put points on the board, the second quarter showed to be in favour of the Mustangs. Guard Maddy Horst took the lead on the court, setting the bar for her teammates with hard passes and even stronger rebounds. She nailed two points off a turnover, followed shortly thereafter by a pass to Curran that ended in an additional two. Algoma's Karly Fracalanza scored three points, bringing the lead back to the Thunderbirds before Horst and Curran could team up again to land another two. The Thunderbirds rediscovered their determination within the last few minutes with Aimee Garland hitting a three-pointer that would take them to the end of the half with a 35-32 lead. Similar to the game the night before, the Thunderbirds went into the second half with the lead where they would need to fight if they wanted to hold onto it.  
 
The second half of the game kicked off with a vengeance from both ends of the court as the teams returned from the locker room with renewed enthusiasm. The third quarter saw new faces from the Purple and White as Elizabeth LeBlanc established her energy with a slashing run that ended in two points, followed by two three-pointers to help Western take the lead by 44-39. Algoma began to feel the pressure of the Mustangs, throwing away shots and struggling to keep possession. The Mustangs would capitalize on this and continue to push as they gained momentum. Ariane Saumure hit a three from the corner of the court with 2:35 left in the third with Fischer following up with an additional three points. The Mustangs closed the quarter with a 53-42 lead, the 11-point difference being the widest margin the game would see.
 
The Mustangs called for a timeout out of the break after Algoma opened the fourth quarter with a quick four points within the first minute. The Thunderbirds finessed their way back into the game as Matte landed her fifth and sixth three-pointers of the match and Fracalanza followed up with one of her own. The Mustangs' lead continued to shrink, hovering a mere three points ahead as they entered the last five minutes of the game. In front of the rim, Fradgley put up three more baskets for the Purple and White and pushed the 'Stangs to an 8-point lead with less than three minutes left. Saumure would slow things down as Western looked to run the clock and maintain their lead. Horst put in two more free-throws, the score climbing to 69-59, and Algoma called for their final TO of the game. Rachel Fradgley landed one last foul shot and closed the game with a 70-59 lead for the Mustangs.    
 
The Mustangs will return to the court on Friday, November 8^th when they will travel to Sudbury, Ontario, to take on the Laurentian University Voyageurs in their first meet of the season. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 P.M. EST.