LONDON, ON - After finally returning home to Alumni Hall following a half-month series of road games, the Mustangs came up against the McMaster Marauders, and came up short of the win.
These two teams hadn't faced off in almost a year when they came head-to-head back in London on Wednesday night.
McMaster began with possession and the Mustangs were holding a tight 1-on-1 defense against them.
Samantha Vidovic scored the first points for Western 90 seconds in, as the Marauders took the next 30 seconds to pull ahead with a 8-3 lead, the Mustangs began to pull back on defense and fall back to a 2-3 zone.
Mac put pressure on the inbound pass, utilizing a strong full-court press against the Mustangs who had made several steals at mid-court already in the game.
Western was beginning to slow down, as they were limited in the number of alternate players on the bench to sub-in, however they were utilizing their height to their advantage. Morgan Tamminga in particular was consistently positioning herself well under the basket to pull down a quick rebound.
The margin stayed within a possession for the majority of the quarter, despite the Marauders intense defensive efforts, the Mustangs continued to power through on offense and push Mac out wide on defense.
The lead kept going back and forth till the end of the quarter, where the score was tied at 18-18.
Neither team was having the greatest luck sinking shots throughout the first, with both teams shooting with under 40% accuracy from the field.
Mustangs Wing player, Melanie Cloutier shared that it's important for the team to "get back to Western Basketball, we're a little disconnected right now and I think we just need to get back to what we do," she said. "We're down numbers right now and its tough, so we've just got to pull through."
McMaster opened scoring once again this quarter with a 3-point shot pulling them into the lead. They then began to take advantage of the tiring Mustangs, who despite slowing down were still fighting hard for rebounds, and making the most of their possessions.
In the first three minutes of the quarter, the Marauders had pulled ahead to a 10-point lead, which then turned into a 20 point lead later in the quarter.
The Mustangs were getting great looks but were just not sinking the shots they needed, they were tiring quickly and the play was becoming more rough.
McMaster continued to press hard, and as the second quarter came to an end, the Mustangs were down 46-30.
While they continued to fight hard throughout the second half, it became more apparent that the Mustangs were losing steam and McMaster capitalized on this. Mac were quickly passing and moving the ball around, and did their best to tire out the Mustangs, who were still using all the energy they could to get out in front of their opponent.
"We're using this game as an opportunity to really prepare for the playoffs, because ultimately in the playoffs anything can happen," said Mustangs Forward, Morgan Tamminga. "We're just using each quarter as an opportunity - each play as an opportunity, to get ready."
Western continued to do a good job drawing their players out on offense, allowing the Mustangs to create space in the paint for a teammate to cut through and put up a shot.
Heading into the fourth and final quarter of the night, Western was down 62-37, after being held to only a seven-point increase since halftime.
The last 10 minutes of play for the Mustangs were much more powerful than the previous quarter, as they game out of the break pushing hard and they put up seven points in the opening four minutes - already tying the number of points made in the third.
The Mustangs were using absolutely all of the energy they had left in the quarter and left it all out on the court.
"They're all perfectionists - they all work exceptionally hard in the classroom, in the community and on the court," said Head Coach Nate McKibbon. "They're able to maintain their energy and focus and spirit, that's more a testament to who they are as a person, than anything I do as a coach."
It was an incredibly physical final quarter, and Western was continuing to drive down to the basket and cut through traffic to put up better shots, while putting more pressure on Mac, causing more turnovers against the visiting Marauders.
Despite a rocky start to the night, the Mustangs ended playing their game, and kept fighting hard right down to the final seconds. As the game ended, the Marauders ultimately took the win, 72-48.
Western will return to Alumni Hall again on Saturday, February 04th at 6 pm to face off against the York Lions for the first time in two years. Fans can purchase tickets to come cheer on the Mustangs at WesternMustangs.ca/Tickets.
