Box Score WATERLOO, ON - The Western Mustangs faced off against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday night, in the final game of the 2023/24 regular season. The Mustangs fell to Laurier, 78-68.
The Mustangs had a strong start offensively, executing effective cuts and navigating through the Laurier defense to go on a 7-0 run to start the quarter.
Both these sides are working really hard for each scoring possession in the first quarter, with strong defense from both the Mustangs and Golden Hawks.
Despite managing to break past Laurier in the opening minutes, the Golden Hawks began heating up offensively and responded to the Mustangs opening run to tie the match up at 7-7.
Laurier took their first lead of the night from the Mustangs, scoring their ninth point just before the three minute mark, as Western continued to have some trouble increasing the score as the Golden Hawks adapted to their scoring plays.
As the first quarter wound down, the Golden Hawks held a narrow lead over the Mustangs, with a two-point lead at 15-13.
Coming out of the first quarter, the Golden Hawks built themselves a nine-point lead to open going up 24-15, before a three from Capretta gave the Mustangs their first increase of the quarter.
Laurier moved ahead in the first three minutes of the second, almost equalling their score from the first quarter, as the Mustangs were now playing catch-up to regain control of the game.
Western was trailing by 10 as the mid-way mark of the quarter, with the Golden Hawks effectively shutting down the Mustangs in the paint.
Despite a close start to the first half, the Golden Hawks had an explosive second quarter, improving 25-14 over the Mustangs to end the second quarter with Western trailing 40-27.
Western continued fighting hard throughout the third quarter to make up for the deficit incurred in the previous quarter.
Despite trailing by double digits throughout the third, the Mustangs crept into the Laurier lead, slowly clawing their way back to an eight-point deficit in the final two minutes.
After a slow start to the quarter, the Mustangs went on an 8-0 run to begin out-scoring the home side in the third.
With the final quarter about to begin, the Mustangs built a steady momentum, inching closer back to the lead, as Western is now only down by eight.
To start the quarter, both teams gave all their energy to try to secure the win, with the Mustangs fighting hard consistently, end-to-end.
It was an incredibly intense battle throughout the final quarter, but the Mustangs were not able to recover from the first-half deficit, ultimately falling to the Laurier Golden Hawks, at 78-68.
Key Stats
Points - Emily Capretta (22)
Rebounds - Avarie Thomas (7)
Assists - Shantz, Capretta, Vidovic (3)
The Mustangs have clinched a playoff spot yet again, more details will be shared when the opponent, time and place are scheduled!
