LONDON, Ont. - Third-year forward Julia Curran put up a team-high 19 points to lead the Western Mustangs women's basketball team in an 89-62 loss to the Windsor Lancers on Friday evening in Alumni Hall.

"I thought we were competing with them, I didn't think we took the initiative. I thought they did a good job of creating the initiative, and we matched it, and we were just trading off points. And with Windsor I don't think we can trade off points, because they're just going to keep coming," said Mustangs' head coach Brian Cheng.

"Windsor is always tough, and I think they showed us where we can work, and what we can improve on definitely," said guard Mackenzie Puklicz. "But we're going to face them again and we're going to learn from it."
Puklicz was the only other Mustang  to score in double-figures for the purple and white, as she racked up 18 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals in the loss.

Both teams came into today with two very different offensive identities, and both sides played to their strengths early, as Windsor looked for the three-point shot, while Western attacked the paint through the beginning of the first quarter. The Mustangs' defence did well to contain the Lancer's offence, while converting on the other end of the floor, but a string of early fouls by the purple and white coupled with the offensive rebounding of Windsor allowed the Lancers to maintain a slim lead throughout the quarter. Western continued to lock down the long-range shots of the Lancers, but faced a 19-17 deficit at the end of the first frame.

The Mustangs continued to convert in the paint, but the dominant rebounding performance from the Lancers remained the main spark of their offence. Windsor sharpshooter Carly Steer began to find her rhythm late in the second quarter, hitting a pair of threes to help extend the Lancer advantage and spreading the Mustangs' defence thin. Western's offence began to fall to the pressure of Windsor's guards towards the end of the half, as the Lancer's translated those extra possessions into points on the fast break, leaving the purple and white trailing 44-31 at the end of the half.

Sheer continued to torch the Mustangs early in the second half, as she connected from deep in the Lancers' opening possession of the quarter. Scoring in the paint continued to be a point of success for the purple and white, but an inability to make consistent stops on the end side of the ball hindered the Western comeback. The Windsor offence continued to roll through the remainder of the quarter as they held a 66-47 lead heading into the fourth.

The Mustangs continued to find success driving the lane and scoring inside throughout the fourth, led by the scoring of Curran. However, Western continued to have trouble securing defensive boards while struggling with turnovers, giving Windsor extra possessions. The remainder of the fourth was much of the same for the purple and white, ultimately leading to the 89-62 outcome.

"There's always lessons to be had, win or lose it's always the same mantra. Reflect, learn, win. It's always nicer to win and learn, but sometimes you get your best growth from losing and learning, and that would be tremendously remorseful if we missed this opportunity to learn," said Cheng, taking towards the positives on the night. "So, we're going to look at tape, and we're going to watch it together in the film, and review and reflect and get back to work."
 
With the loss, the Mustangs will fall to 3-2 on the season, as they remain in fourth place in the OUA West division. The Lancers win will keep their undefeated record in tact, as they solidify their position atop the OUA West standings with a 4-0 record.

The Mustangs will be back in action this Friday, November 17, when they will travel to Ottawa to take on the Gee-Gees in their first meeting of the season. The game is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. and fans can catch the action live at OUA.tv.