Windsor ON - Tonight inside the Windsor Lancers gym felt nothing like a regular season game. It had the pulse of something larger, almost like a national tournament with the crowd humming and every possession carrying weight. The Western Mustangs walked into that building with confidence and heart, but Windsor made them earn every inch. This was a game that swung back and forth, a game that refused to settle until the final moments, and one that showed why this Western team is becoming one of the most resilient groups in the conference.
The afternoon opened with this quiet tension in the gym, the kind that wraps itself around every dribble and makes the start of a game feel heavier than usual. Western stepped into the first quarter with a determined calm. Catie Joosten found space for early jumpers that settled the Mustangs into a rhythm. Renee Armstrong pushed the ball with poise and set up Western's early looks. Paris Alexander checked in and immediately brought pace, knocking down a clean three that lifted the energy on the bench. Emily Capretta added her mid range touch, and Western closed the first leading thirteen to twelve with a sense that the game was shaping into something tight and competitive.

The second quarter became a grind. Every possession felt like it carried weight. Natalie Van Heeswyk powered inside with strong finishes that held Western steady while Windsor traded blows. Sydney Cowan hit a deep three that momentarily lifted the Mustangs, and Paris continued to create shots off the bounce. But Windsor kept answering at the right moments, turning transition stops into quick points and using free throws to inch ahead. Even so Western refused to bend. They stayed connected, fought for every rebound, and trailed twenty eight to twenty five at the half in a game that felt like it was still waiting to break open.

The third quarter exploded into one of Western's strongest stretches of basketball all night. Paris Alexander stepped into the moment with back to back threes that set a fire under the team. Cowan joined in by hitting another deep one. Then Armstrong buried a three of her own that made the bench rise as one. Annie Balfe added a huge three from the wing. Western outscored Windsor twenty six to twenty nine in a quarter filled with pace and belief. The ball moved beautifully. The confidence grew with every make. Even as Windsor hit their own shots on the other end it felt like Western was playing the game on their terms. At the end of three the Mustangs trailed only fifty seven to fifty one but carried the energy of a team ready to flip the entire story.

Now the fourth began, and this was where the emotion truly sharpened.

Western opened that final quarter with a surge of belief. Rachel Daly stepped into a smooth jumper that cut the lead and made the entire bench jolt upright. Cowan followed with another soft jumper, then calmly added a free throw that trimmed it again. Western kept punching into that gap. They kept sending a message that they were nowhere close to done.

Windsor tried to stretch it with a three and a jumper, but Western held their ground and stayed within reach. Van Heeswyk brought a powerful steadiness inside. She rose through contact for a short jumper, then minutes later pushed another one in with a kind of determination that made it clear Western had a plan. Attack the paint. Own the rebounds. Stay within striking distance.

Lane fought for loose balls. Capretta fought for second chance touches. Western kept forcing stops. Then Van Heeswyk dropped another jumper inside that made it sixty six to sixty two. Two possessions. That was the whole thing. Western was still alive. You could feel the tension rising with every dribble.

Then Paris Alexander gave the game one of its loudest moments. She sliced into the lane, extended through traffic, and laid it in with pure control to make it sixty six to sixty four. The gym reacted like a wave. Anyone watching could feel that the comeback was no longer a hope. It was real. It was unfolding in front of everyone.

A few possessions later Armstrong stepped into a mid range jumper and buried it to put Western ahead sixty seven to sixty six. It felt like the room shifted. The belief on the faces in purple was unmistakable. The Mustangs were right there. They had been chasing the game for almost forty minutes and they finally had the lead.

Windsor answered by nudging ahead again but Western refused to drop. Alexander attacked the paint once more and her soft finish made it sixty nine to sixty eight. The Mustangs were still only a single possession away. They were defending with urgency. They were rebounding with grit. Everything about the way they moved showed a team convinced that the comeback was theirs to claim.

Even when Windsor made it seventy two to sixty nine with just over two minutes remaining Western stayed close enough to feel it. One stop. One clean look. One shot that could swing the entire afternoon. That was all that separated them from taking control.

And then the moment came that broke it.

Windsor swung the ball around the arc. The clock bled down. Western had forced the possession deep. The defence was set. The bench was on its feet. They were one rebound away from grabbing the ball with a chance to tie it.

But with fifty four seconds left Julia Chiarot rose on the right wing and let a deep three fly. The ball lifted into the air like a held breath. The gym froze. When it fell through the net and pushed the lead to seventy seven to sixty nine it was the dagger. The shot that landed right on the heart of Western's comeback.

Western fought to the final horn but the gap never reopened. Windsor closed it out seventy nine to sixty nine, but the Mustangs walked off the floor knowing they had played with courage and fire until the very last possession.




KEY STATS

Paris Alexander
19 points 6 rebounds 4 assists

Natalie Van Heeswyk
12 points 5 rebounds

Sydney Cowan
11 points 4 rebounds 2 steals

Renée Armstrong
10 points 4 rebounds 4 assists 6 steals

Emily Capretta
6 points 5 rebounds 2 steals