LONDON, ON - Western returned back to Alumni Hall to face off against the Brock Badgers on Saturday night, as they unfortunately fell to the visitors, by 12 points.

In this year's Shoot 4 The Cure game, the Mustangs hosted the Badgers, promoting donations to be made toward the Canadian Cancer Society. This event is hosted by Western annually to raise funds to go toward breast cancer awareness and research. 

As the night began, Brock started out strong going 4-0 on their opening possessions, before the Mustangs cut their lead in half with two successful free-throws. 

It was a tight chase for Western, trying to grasp hold of the lead, and with six minutes remaining the Mustangs took their first lead of the night thanks to a three-point basket from Brett Fischer. 

UWO were doing well at cutting through to the net to put up steady shots, and on defense they were closing out their players and pushing hard for the rebounds. 

Although they continued to set up strong in the paint the Badgers continued to power down the court and put up the final points of the quarter giving them the lead at 16-15 at the end of the first 10. 

At the opening of the second quarter, Emily Capretta put up a beautiful 3-point basket for the Mustangs, setting the tone and bringing the score back at a tie. 

It was a very closely played game throughout the entire first half, with the largest lead of either team being the four-point gap when the Badgers went up 4-0 to start, then once again going up by four with just as many minutes left in the half.

"At this point, the wins and losses we have to get out of our minds," said Mustang Brett Fischer, "we have to play with heart, play with grit, play with effort and just play our best basketball." 

Over the next couple minutes Western managed to pull it back and snatch a narrow lead with two remaining. Despite causing seven turnovers, more than twice as many as their opponent, the Mustangs appeared to be in control, and remained determined as the first half came to a close with Brock once again holding the lead at 35-33. 

Once again, the Mustangs have fallen behind, as the Badgers went up 41-34 in the opening five minutes of the quarter and they were out-scoring Western 6-1 by the same point.

Western was playing a much more physical game this quarter than the previous half, getting themselves right in between their player and the ball at every opportunity, and forcing Brock to work hard for every play. 

Since the Badgers pulled ahead by seven at the beginning of the quarter, the Mustangs came back swinging and refused to let the visiting team run away with it on home turf. 

As the third quarter came to an end, the Mustangs once again held Brock to only a four point differential at 47-43. 

Western immediately scored on their opening play of the fourth quarter, cutting the margin back down to only one possession. Following this, Brock returned to open the quarter on a 6-0 run, leaving the home squad trailing by eight points and a little over seven minutes remaining. 

The Mustangs were continuing to press hard defensively, causing Brock to rush their passes and just toss up shots to avoid the violation, increasing on-court frustrations.

The game remained very aggressive from both sides right up till the end, but unfortunately the Mustangs fell to the Badgers, 66-54. 

"There are a lot of things that we could've done a little bit better, that a fixable," said Ariane Saumure on the outcome of the game, and looking forward to playoffs. "If we take those away, its a different game," she continued. 

Western will be back on the road for their next game, coming up against the Guelph Gryphons for their final road game of the regular season at 6 pm in Guelph. Fans can tune in live to support the team at OUA.tv.