LONDON, ON - Tonight's Breast Cancer Awareness round in Windsor was incredibly intense right to the end, these two teams constantly pushing each other, with the Mustangs pulling ahead to win by 8.
The scoring tonight opened up slower than usual, with both teams only scoring 19 combined points by the end of the first quarter.
This tight score is evidence of the incredible defence that we saw from both of these teams, right throughout the game. The Mustangs were able to hold a solid man-on-man defence, which effectively kept the Windsor Lancers outside the paint.
There were some unlucky shots from Western, with the first field goals of the game scored with just under 4 minutes left in the quarter. Ariane Saumure opened the Mustangs scoring of the night with two successful free throws. Still, Madalyn Picton sank Western's first basket of the game.
The Mustangs were doing great work on the defensive end, contesting all of the Lancers' shots in the first quarter. They ended the first quarter trailing closely behind, 10-09 for Windsor.
The second quarter opened up with an intense movement up and down the court, with both teams maintaining the defensive skill we saw in the first.
The Mustangs were finally able to pull ahead with a lead, Ashley Wheeler scoring the team's first three-point basket of the night.
Back-to-back steals for the Mustangs right off a time-out lead to Western gaining the lead. These incredible plays preceded a 10-02 scoring run for the Mustangs. They ended up pulling ahead by 8 with only a minute left in the half.
The scoring percentage for the game at the end of the first was only 17% overall. Still, by the end of this intense second quarter, this number went up to 32% for the Mustangs, who went into halftime up 32-27.
Western's third quarter was just as strong as the previous, out-scoring the Lancers 7-0 in the first three minutes of this second half.
This opening was at a different pace from what we saw from Western in the first quarter. The team now held a lead of at least 10 points for the majority of the quarter, and not once did they allow Windsor to overtake them.
Intense pressure on the defensive end resulted in some panicked moves from the Lancers and multiple turnovers to begin the fourth.
The Mustangs held a steady lead for the rest of the game, with their lead remaining steady for the rest of the game, with no signs of slowing down or falling back.
With less than two minutes left in the game, Western maintained their 14 point lead.
While Windsor began to close the gap in the last minutes of play, they were unsuccessful, and the Mustangs finished the game in the lead, with a final score of 69-61.
The Mustangs will play their next game this Saturday night, February 19 against Windsor, back home at Alumni Hall. Tickets are on sale now at www.westernmustangs.ca/tickets.
