LONDON, ON - In their final game of 2022, the Mustangs faced off in a rematch of the 2021/22 OUA West Semi-finals against the Guelph Gryphons, and unfortunately were not able to secure the victory heading into the winter break.

The game was highly intense and fast-paced right from the start. Guelph opened up to begin the first quarter, scoring 10 unanswered points on the Mustangs. 

Western was making most of their shots from further out in the field, as the Gryphons were holding tight on defense and making it challenging for the Mustangs to set up for a shot in the paint. 

Despite Guelph initially opening the game overpowering the Mustangs offensively, Western quickly came back - holding the Gryphons much closer defensively, and going full force with a full-court press on defense to pressure Guelph right from the inbound. 

The Mustangs had improved enormously after the game's opening minutes. They were really successful at making the most of their points off turnovers, putting up six compared to Guelph's two at the end of the quarter. 

Guelph was consistently holding onto their lead throughout the first quarter. Still, Western made them work hard for every possession and each point. 

The Mustangs were heavily contesting every rebound and were very effective at crashing the boards to regain possession. 

It was a physically intense game throughout, with Western having pulled all but one of Guelph's rebounded shots with one minute remaining in the quarter. 

"We take pride in playing tough games and rising to the occasion," said Western's Head Coach, Nate McKibbon, "we've played some top 10 teams, we've shown at moments that we can compete, and now we have to turn these smaller moments into longer [ones]." 

As the second quarter began, the Mustangs trailed Guelph 21-12. 

Guelph was doing an excellent job of pressing Western on defense and running down the shot clock. Despite this, the Mustangs consistently returned with tight pressure on the Gryphons on defense and quickly cut through the key to create space for open shots. 

Western made twice as many offensive rebounds than Guelph in the second quarter, and they worked well together to put the shots back up to capitalize on second-chance points. 

The Gryphons fought hard under the net to slow the Mustangs on the rebound. Although Western hadn't held the lead yet in the game, they had brought Guelph's lead down to single digits.

As the first half came to an end, the Mustangs were down 31-27, after Western had held the Gryphons to half the number of points as the first quarter. 

The Mustangs were continually strong at forcing the Gryphons out of the key as much as possible on defense. 

"We focused a lot on just staying connected, and I think that helped us get back in the game," said Mustang's Wing player Emily Capretta. "There's just some little, fixable things on the court that we have a lot to work on because we know we're all there for each other... it's just consistently doing those things."

Both teams were fighting hard for each possession, often going down to the ground to grab the ball from the other team for control.

While Western was doing a great job of holding Guelph out of the paint throughout the third quarter, the Gryphons were also pressing hard on the Mustangs throughout the quarter, causing shot clock violations and turnovers on the transition. 

The Mustangs were incredibly powerful in free throw shooting, where they had only missed three foul shots by the end of the quarter, which helped to keep them in the game. 

As the third quarter ended, Guelph had only outscored Western by one point, and the scoreboard read 42-37 in favor of the Gryphons. 

These teams were incredibly evenly matched, which was evident throughout the entire game, and both teams were using all their energy to fight hard to the finish. 

"I think we're gonna regroup heading into the December break, and we're going to get into the gym. Everyone needs to get healed up from some injuries... and come out angry," said Mustang Forward Morgan Tamminga. "We're kind of rebuilding the team again, but we had to come from behind, and we definitely fought back." 

The Mustangs were doing well defensively, despite trailing Guelph throughout the entire game, they continued to battle right to the final buzzer. 

Ariane Saumure was the game's highest scorer, having put up 25 points, as the Mustangs ended their night with a 63-54 loss. 

The Mustangs will return for their next games in the new year, facing off against the Windsor Lancers at 2 pm on Saturday, January 7th, at Alumni Hall. Tickets are on sale at WesternMustangs.ca/Tickets.