TORONTO, ON - It was a thrilling matchup between the 3rd and 5th ranked teams in the division as the Western Mustangs faced-off against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in a Friday night game in the city. 

Right from the jump, the Mustangs used their speed and intensity against the Varsity Blues. Constantly beating them down the court on offense and holding right against them on defense allowed the 'Stangs to intimidate the younger Toronto team and begin the quarter pulling ahead by 10 points. 

Both teams entered the game tonight on a losing streak. It was clear how much they all wanted to snap out of it tonight, but the Mustangs were fighting for a playoff spot as they began the night ranked 3rd in the division. 

Western was putting consistent pressure on Toronto defensively throughout the night, pressing them hard and challenging them on each and every shot. 

A fast break from Ariane Saumure gave the Mustangs their first basket of the night. The team earned their largest lead in the double digits before the Varsity Blues came back and cut the lead down to two with three remaining.

Sarah Harvey was doing a great job down low for the team. The Mustangs utilized their speed to their advantage, consistently beating Toronto down the court and setting up early, making it challenging for UofT to put shots up. 

It was a low-scoring start to the game, with the scoreboard reading 5-3 almost halfway into the quarter.

Western had utilized a full-court press from the start and did so well into the night, which was a shock to Toronto, who weren't playing as intense a defense until later on in the night.

As the first quarter came to a close, the Mustangs held a three-point lead over the Varsity Blues, up 19-16.  

Two minutes into the second quarter, Western trailed for the first time since their opening points, following a successful Toronto three-point shot from deep. 

U of T's defense was much stronger in the remainder of the first half, especially on the block, having made four times as many as the Mustangs. Although Western had pulled down more rebounds than the Varsity Blues, they struggled to capitalize on these chances. 

The score remained balanced, hovering around 21 points for both teams over an extended period, with both sides maintaining similar intensity levels. 

The Varsity Blues fought back despite the Stang's constant attacks under the basket, to have the lead with five minutes remaining until the end of the half. Each time the Mustangs tied the game at this point, Toronto managed to pull slightly ahead. 

Toronto was putting much more pressure on Western in the bottom half of the quarter than earlier in the night, as this underdog team continued fighting hard to play the best game they could. 

With an impressive steal and layup from half-court, Saumure pulled the Mustangs back into the lead right on the buzzer, giving Western another lead at the break, up 28-26. 

Throughout the third quarter, the intensity remained high. The shot clock has been the enemy of both teams tonight, with these opponents pressing each other out and using the countdown against them. 

Western was doing well at neutralizing Toronto's stack on the inbound. With five minutes remaining in the quarter, the Mustangs had pulled ahead to a four-point lead, the largest of any team since the first quarter. 

The entire game had been played within single digits since the original 10-point Western lead in the first quarter. 

In the final minutes of the third, the gap between the teams narrowed back down to a single possession, and the Varsity Blues continued forcing the Mustangs to work for every scoring attempt. As the quarter concluded, the Mustangs were up 48-44. 

Toronto slowed the Mustangs down in this quarter and was making it even more difficult for them to succeed than expected from a team that came into the night with a 4-12 record. 


Western was up by one with a little over six minutes left in the game. They have been doing well on defense, forcing passes and running down the clock.


What looked to be a blow-out game for the Mustangs instead quickly became a close back-and-forth matchup with a consistently tight margin. 


Western had applied an aggressive press throughout the opening quarters of the game, which caused them to tire quicker than the Varsity Blues. However, this allowed them to pull ahead with the largest margin of the night with two minutes remaining, up by six points. 


Although the Mustangs started to pull ahead further over the following minutes, Toronto was unwilling to give up and managed to pull the game back to one possession. 


It was a tense final minute of play. Still, ultimately Western solidified their victory with a steal and score in the last seconds, finalizing their 61-60 win.


Western will face Toronto Metropolitan University in their next game Saturday, January 28th, at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto at 4 pm. Fans can tune in to support the Mustangs live on OUA.tv.