Box Score London, ON - After a well-fought and close game, the Mustangs fall to the Gryphons, 77-71.
Tonight was the annual USports Shoot For the Cure game in support of the cancer society. The Western Mustangs face off against the Guelph Gryphons on home court.
The Mustangs came off strong against the Gryphons as Emily Capretta got the first nine points in the game with three successful 3 point shots in a row. The Mustangs pressured the Gryphons with tight defence.
Associate Head Coach of the Mustangs Meg Wilson discusses Capretta's game, "She came out and hit three 3's… I mean she's definitely a shooter and to see her have that kind of confidence makes me super excited. She has been working hard all year so to see her have that kind of performance to start the game was amazing."
The home team was a consistent leader in the first quarter against the Gryphons, a great way to start off this game.
The first quarter ended with the Mustangs on top, 25 to 21, with the top scorer in the first quarter being Emily Capretta from the Mustangs and Alexis Wright from the Gryphons.
The second quarter saw the Gryphons start to feel the Mustangs out and gained a lead at the beginning of the third. Although, the point differential was close, consistently about 2 or 4 points, as these teams are very well matched up.
Towards the end of the quarter, both teams fought to get on top before halftime and were both playing a tough and well fought game.
The buzzer went to signal halftime as the score favoured the Gryphons by one point, 39 to 38.
The third quarter of the game started off with great action on both sides of the court. The Mustangs regained their lead in the quarter against the Gryphons. As the game progressed, more aggression was seen from the Gryphons. The Gryphons had 5 fouls, versus 2 from the Mustangs. The point differential remained extremely close throughout the quarter.
The Mustangs end the quarter tied against the Gryphons.
Coach Wilson says, "Our defensive intensity definitely improved through the second half which was a goal of ours. Our defensive rebounding was a big part of that."
There is tension on the court as the fourth quarter begins and both teams know either one could end up with the victory at the end of the match. The Gryphons have the lead by 6 points halfway through the quarter.
The Mustangs take a timeout with 5 minutes left to discuss how these last few minutes of the game will play out for them.
As the clock counts down to the end of the game, the Mustangs are trailing behind by no more than a few points. The offence works hard to try to get the team on top while the defence works hard to stop the Gryphons from increasing their lead.
Unfortunately, the Gryphons took the victory in the game, 77-71.
Coach Wilson speaks on the game, "I'm very proud of all the effort they put in. Our goal all season has been to improve and I think we got better tonight."
The Mustangs next game will be February 3rd, against the Brock Badgers, at 6:00pm, on the road. Be sure to check out the live action of that game at OUA.tv.
