Jan. 15: Western 57 – Guelph 52

GUELPH - The Guelph Gryphon women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to the Western Mustangs Saturday afternoon at the W.F. Mitchell Centre 57-52.

With the loss, the Gryphon's drop to 7-5 on the season, while Western improves to a league leading 11-1.



Ali Dzikowski (Brantford, Ont.) led the Gryphon's with a game-high 17 points to go with her nine rebounds. Alex Yallin (Port Colborne, Ont.) added 10 points, while Jasmine Douglas (Guelph, Ont.) had a quiet eight points to go with seven rebounds as she fought through foul trouble for much of the game.

The Mustangs were led by Matteke Hutzler's 16 points and nine rebounds, while Jenny Vaughan and Jacklyn Selfe each added 13 points.

The Gryphon's struggled with the Mustangs trapping full court defence for much of the first quarter, as they committed 11 turnovers in the opening quarter. The Mustangs were able to rattle off 14 straight points to take a 15-7 first quarter lead.

Guelph was able to tighten their defence in the second, forcing the Mustangs into a number of unforced turnovers. The Mustangs had 13 turnovers in the second alone, allowing the Gryphon's to rally on Chelsea Kane's three pointer as time expired to take a 26-25 halftime lead.

The Gryphon's continued their run into the second half, going on a 13-0 run over the second and third quarters, before ultimately collapsing late in the fourth quarter.

With Guelph's Jasmine Douglas and Samantha Russell (Paradise Valley, AZ) fouling out in the final quarter, Hutzler was able to score five in the fourth to help seal the victory. Self's three pointer with one minute remaining game the Mustangs a 50-47 lead that they would not relinquish.

The Gryphon's will take their game on the road when they visit the Laurier Golden Hawks January 19th. Tipoff is scheduled for 6pm.