OSHAWA, ON - The Mustangs begin the weekend breaking their four-game losing streak with Friday night's win over the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks. 

The Mustangs were in control of the game right from the jump, despite losing the initial possession, in the first 3 minutes of play, Western opened with a 9-0 scoring run. 

Ontario Tech were playing close on defense which caused the Mustangs to be rushed in moving the ball around to put up a shot. The Ridgebacks were playing well defensively, and were holding close with a man-on-man defense, and fighting the Mustangs hard for rebounds. 

Western were powerful offensively throughout the night, driving right to the basket and putting up as many shots as possible, while being fast on the transition and consistently beating the Ridgebacks down on the transition. 

It was this powerful play from Western throughout that they were able to pull together a 14 point lead in the first, while also holding the Ridgebacks to only three points in eight minutes. 

Toward the end of the quarter, the Ridgebacks were playing much tighter on the ball, and were making it more difficult for the Mustangs to run away with it further in the first quarter. 

When the first quarter came to an end, the Mustangs were up 20-05, and Ariane Saumure led the team in scoring, with seven points. 

At the top of the second, the Mustangs were powerful under the basket, crowding for the rebound and forcing Ontario Tech out of the way. 

This contributed to Western being able to pull ahead to 33-12 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, before the Ridgebacks were able to attempt to come back, nearly out-scoring the Mustangs in the first five minutes of the quarter, but falling just short. 

With four minutes remaining in the quarter, the Mustangs were able to further solidify their lead, pulling ahead by almost three times that of their opponent, at 35-12. The majority of these points were scored in the paint, with Western still driving hard into the key. 

The Ridgebacks were fighting right back, getting close on defense and ripping the ball from the Mustangs at any opportunity. 

The second quarter was much more powerful for Ontario Tech than the first, as they had drastically improved on their scoring, and had started to try to pull themselves back into the game.

However, Western continued to be dominant on offense, and with the help of Sarah Harvey, who scored ten points in just the second quarter, the Mustangs held on to a 16-point lead to end the first half up 43-27.

It was clear heading into the second half that Western was making great use of the height advantage they had over their opponent, and were making the most out of every rebound to regain possession and put more shots up. 

Western opened this third quarter on a 11-0 scoring run, improving even further upon their already powerful lead. They were also continuing to place the Ridgebacks under intense pressure, which caused them to total 25 turnovers compared to the Mustangs 15. 

Despite Ontario Tech playing a much stronger second quarter, they reverted back to the team we saw in the first quarter, with their speed and accuracy falling back down, while the Mustangs continued firing up, and ended the third quarter maintaining the lead at 62-33.

In the final quarter, the Mustangs had a bit of a slower start, as Ontario Tech held them off scoring for the first minutes of the quarter. 

Emily Capretta ended the Ridgebacks 9-0 scoring run, which was a catalyst for Western's final run, as they held their opponent to their 25% success rate on field goals all night. 

As the final quarter came to an end, the Mustangs walked away with their first win since December second, with tonight's 80-54 win over Ontario Tech. 


The Mustangs' next game is tomorrow night, Saturday, January 21, at 6pm against the Queen's Gaels in Kingston. Fans stream the game live at OUA.tv.