March 3, 2016

Mustangs advance to OUA quarterfinals with big win over Varsity Blues

LONDON, Ont. – A career-high 26 points from Meredith McLeod helped lead the Western Mustangs to a 91-51 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues in an OUA Preliminary Round Playoff game on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.

Toronto

0-1

Western

1-0

Final

Toronto 0-1

Western 1-0

LONDON, Ont. – A career-high 26 points from Meredith McLeod helped lead the Western Mustangs to a 91-51 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues in an OUA Preliminary Round Playoff game on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.

"I thought it was a full, complete team effort," said Western head coach Brian Cheng. "We saw contributions from everyone. We executed the game plan, we played hard, we played smart, and we played together."

Wednesday's win marks the first time the Mustangs have moved past the first round of playoffs since 2013. The Mustangs will now take on the Ryerson Rams on Saturday in the OUA Quarterfinals.

At the forefront of the Toronto loss was McLeod. With Maddy Horst out due to injury, McLeod moved into her spot where the Lindsay, Ont., native proved to be more than up to the challenge.

"I took advantage of being moved up into a spot that I'm not used to," said McLeod. "And once I hit my first two shots I felt like I was hot out there, so I just kept on shooting it."

McLeod's 26 points led all players on Wednesday. Caroline Wolynski was the second leading score of the night, as the captain contributed 17 points for Western. First-year guard Laura Graham added 13 points of her own, including sinking four baskets from behind the three -oint line.

In the first minute of play the Mustangs' energy was high, causing them to take the lead with a basket by first-year Curran followed by a three-pointer by McLeod. Throughout the quarter, the purple and white energy never faded, and the baskets kept coming for the home team. By the end of the frame, six different players contributed to the scoreboard, and it was 26-11 for Western by the end of the first ten minutes.

Western refused to slow down as they moved into the second quarter, sinking shot after shot to finish the half with a 60% success rate from the floor. With near perfect shooting, McLeod was a key factor in Western's strong first half. Missing just one of her nine shots, the guard scored a whopping 20 points in 20 minutes, 15 of those points coming from three-pointers. Heading into halftime, the Mustangs led 57-20.

Following the break, Toronto upped their defence by moving to a full-court press. They managed to slow down the Mustangs' momentum slightly compared to the other quarters, even out-rebounding the home team by two grabs. Fortunately for the purple and white, the Varsity Blues' improved defence wasn't enough to close the huge gap between scores, and the Mustangs were ahead 77-37 heading into the final quarter.

With ten minutes standing between the Mustangs and the quarterfinals, the purple and white refused to get complacent, finishing the night with a 91-51 win.

Wednesday's win sends the Mustangs to Toronto to take on Ryerson in the OUA Quarterfinals. The Rams, who earned a first round bye, defeated the Mustangs in the teams' only meeting this season, handing Western an 84-70 loss in November.

Game time for the quarterfinals is set for Saturday, March 5 at 6 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Fans can catch the game live on OUA.tv