LONDON, ON -
Looking to extend their win streak to 3 before heading into the post-season, the Mustangs celebrated their 'senior night' against the Laurier Golden Hawks. Western celebrated graduating seniors McKeely Shantz, Morgan Tamminga, Allie Columbus, as well as starters Samantha Vidovic, Kailey Reimer, Avarie Thomas and Jenna Button.
The Mustangs outplayed the Golden Hawks in the first quarter, forcing 5 steals and 5 turnovers. Despite that, Laurier took a 1-point lead heading into the 2nd quarter, 18-19. Jenna Button lit up the field scoring 9 points in the frame.
Button continued to lead the Mustangs in scoring. She knocked down crucial threes and drove to the basket, nailing all 4 of her free throw attempts. Western trailed by 3 going into the break, 36-39. Laurier did most of their work in the paint, where they scored 30 of their 39 points.
The Mustangs fought their way back into the game, building a lead by as much as four points. Laurier prevented the Mustangs from running away with the game, and grabbed a 1-point lead 54-53 heading into the final 10 minutes.
With time winding down in the game, the Mustangs fought their way up 8 points. Offensively, they got contributions from everyone on the court and defensively they forced Laurier to take tough shots.
The Mustangs celebrated seven seniors, some who have joined the Western basketball program for one year and others have spent their entire OUA careers in purple. head coach Nate McKibbon spoke highly of the leadership they bring. "They constantly show up every day, they work hard, they play hard for each other, they care deeply about each other. That comes from leadership that was here before, it comes from leadership with those that have learned as they've gone through the program, but it's also nice to welcome the players in from other programs and steal from some of the stuff that has worked in other places."
With the postseason coming up, head coach Nate McKibbon emphasized the need to continue to pressure and stay united. "We were a little disconnected in the first half, especially on the defensive end… We just need to be a little bit more on the same page. I thought the last two days we've been better in terms of getting into our defensive pressure, so I'd love to be able to continue some of that. We also need to continue to share the ball, just as we did today."
Western closed out the game 74-63, heading into the postseason on a three-game win streak. Their first round matchup is on February 19th. Tune in live on OUA.tv.
KEY STATS
G | Jenna Button - 30 PTS (5-12 3PT), 4 REBS, 5 ASTS
G | Paris Alexander - 13 PTS, 2 REBS, 2 STLS
F | Sarah Harvey - 11 PTS, 6 REBS, 2 ASTS, 1 BLK
