LONDON, ON - It was a thrilling game Saturday afternoon as the Western Mustangs defeated Guelph, earning their place in the OUA Semi-Finals.

Alumni Hall was packed to the brim as friends, family, fans, and other Mustang teams came out to show their support for the women's basketball team. 

The energy both on and off the court was unmatched, with the game exhibiting intensity and aggression throughout the match that built on what we saw in the regular season.

"You feed off of the crowd's energy, and especially knowing that you have other varsity student-athletes that are cheering you on, but friends and family, it makes you want to play your heart out," said Mustang Ariane Saumure.

It was clear the Mustangs were feeding off the crowd's energy, as they were locked in from the jump and maintained it throughout the game. 

The Mustangs played well on both ends of the court. Still, their defense shined through, especially when Ashley Wheeler and Sarah Harvey both had incredible block's on back-to-back plays, sending the crowd and bench into a frenzy.

Western fought hard through Guelph's tight defense and managed to end the first quarter down, 10-8. 

The second quarter opened with the Mustangs displaying a tight defense right out the gate, continuing on the physically intense and demanding play we saw in the first ten minutes.

"When [Guelph] were going on a run, we just knew that if we took our time, we would hit the shots and get the boards, and we just trusted each other," said Brett Fischer. A sentiment echoed by her teammate, Saumure, saying, "We really wanted to push... at the beginning of the game, we told ourselves that we were going to play with heart, and I think that's what we demonstrated." 

Guelph was doing a fair job of holding the Mustangs out on defense and made them fight hard for every point.

Western was doing an incredible job getting steals, collecting 11 by the end of the first half. 

Creating scoring plays off the back of these steals and effectively crashing the offensive boards helped the Mustangs gain the lead heading into the second half up 29-22.

Once again, the Mustangs opened the quarter strong, heading into the third being neck-and-neck in scoring with Guelph. 

The intensity from earlier in the game was still prevalent, and the crowd contributed to the energy on the court.

"We were trying to keep the momentum from last week," said Mustangs' Head Coach Nate McKibbon. He continued, "as soon as we knew who we were playing, I think just a switch went on, and we were just ready to play."

Both teams had a spectacular turnout, with fans packing the stands cheering for both squads. "It's always an amazing feeling. If you hit a shot, then the crowd goes wild, you just know that like they also have your back also," said Fischer. 

Western did an incredible job of holding tight to their player, running down the shot clock, and drawing fouls off Guelph, and the game headed into its final quarter with a tied game at 42 apiece. 

The final 10 minutes of play maintained the tight back-and-forth play from earlier in the game, with neither team slowing down or giving an inch of room. 

Western was sinking some powerful shots, and key players for the Mustangs were impacting both offensively and defensively. 

The Mustangs stuck to their man-on-man defense on the defensive end, and it worked for them. Western was in the lead by three points with only two minutes remaining. 

Both teams were getting right down on both ends of the court and did not give the other an inch of room to breathe with the game remaining within only one or two possessions. 

With every basket and call, the crowd went wild, pumping up the energy in the venue. "I can't say thank you enough to the people within our department who helped get that done and all the other teams, friends, and family that were there. That was just a great atmosphere," said McKibbon. 

The game came right down to the wire; with one play left, the Mustangs were up. As the final buzzer sounded, Alumni Hall exploded with cheers as Western moved on to the OUA semi-finals, with a final score of 61-57. 


The Mustangs' next game will be announced in the following days; check www.westernmustangs.ca for the schedule and updates.