SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - Fifth-year guard
Mackenzie Puklicz put up her second thirty-point game of the year to lead the Western Mustangs women's basketball team to their second straight win over the Algoma Thunderbirds with a 71-65 victory on Saturday evening at the George Leach Centre.
With the win, the Mustangs will improve to 10-8 on the regular season and move into fourth place in the OUA West division, overtaking the Laurier Golden Hawks' 9-9 record. The Thunderbirds' loss will drop them to 2-16 on the season as they will remain in eighth place in the OUA West Division, narrowly sitting above the 1-16 Waterloo Warriors.
After a slow first half for both Puklicz and the rest of the Mustang roster, Puklicz put up 25 second-half points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of steals in the game to secure the Western victory.
Two other Mustangs scored in double figures for the purple and white in the win, as
Julia Curran put up 15 points and a game-high 8 rebounds while
Victoria Heine put up 13 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Karina Cole led the way for the Thunderbirds in a closely contested game, putting up 15 points and six rebounds on the evening, displaying an offensive exhibition in the post.
The Mustangs dominated the boards to start things off but were unable to convert following a string of early offensive rebounds. However, the Thunderbirds struggled just as much to find the bottom of the net in front of their home crowd as neither side had any offensive rhythm to begin the game. Foul trouble from the Algoma defence would allow the Mustangs to earn their points at the line as the purple and white built up a small lead, heading into the second quarter with a slim 15-11 lead.
Algoma would eventually find their footing on offence, knocking down four quick threes to shoot their way back into the game. The Mustangs tried to outrun the Thunderbirds by pushing the fast break, but solid interior and transition defence from Algoma would hold off the Western attack. Curran would be the key contributor throughout the quarter for the purple and white, keeping the Mustangs' offence afloat, but a scrappy effort from the Thunderbirds would give them the slim 33-29 lead heading into halftime.
???????Puklicz turned defence into offence to open the second half, cutting off passing lanes and producing early on the fast break to retake the lead for the Mustangs. However, the Thunderbirds refused to be shut down the way they were the previous night, as Algoma found success posting up and driving to the paint, earning themselves points at the rim. However, a respectable offensive showing in the quarter highlighted by crisp ball movement and 12 third-quarter points from Puklicz would give the Mustangs the 52-48 lead heading into the fourth.
???????Puklicz would continue her dominance into the final quarter of play, knocking down an early three in the frame and extending the Western lead. The threes kept flowing early in the fourth from the purple and white as the Mustangs quickly grew a two-point advantage into a 14-point lead midway through the frame. However, the game quickly turned into a shooting exhibition late in the fourth as Algoma started knocking down shots from distance to bring themselves back in the game. Fouls would once again plague the Thunderbirds down the stretch as they did in the first quarter, allowing Puklicz to seal the game with a series of clutch free throws, giving the Mustangs a 71-65 win in a closely contested ball game.
The Mustangs will be back in action this Wednesday, January 31 where they will host the Waterloo Warriors in Alumni for their second meeting of the season. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv and Radio Western 94.9 FM.
