GUELPH, Ont. - Wednesday night (Feb. 15) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre the University of Guelph's women's basketball team took the court for their final regular season home game, playing host to the Western Mustangs. The Gryphons came into Wednesday night's game coming off of a tough loss to the Windsor Lancers just four days prior and also looking to avenge their loss to the Mustangs in last year's OUA playoffs. The game between the Gryphons and Mustangs also served as the 2023 edition of the "She's Got Game" and "Shoot For the Cure" games in support of University of Guelph Department of Athletics gender equity initiative and the U SPORTS breast cancer fundraising initiative. 

The game opened with both the Mustangs and Gryphons unable to build any meaningful momentum. Western struggled from the field shooting just 13% but were able to stay in the game with the Gryphons committing seven fouls and the Mustangs capitalizing at the line. The second quarter saw the Gryphons come out much more disciplined, only committing four fouls, but unable to extend their lead shooting just 24%. Despite their struggles the Gryphons went into the locker room trailing the Mustangs by just a single point after Lucy Tesseyman hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the half. Tesseyman, a 3rd-year human kinetics major, led the U of G women with 9 points after 20 minutes of play. She went on to finish the game with 11 points, 7 rebounds, one steal, and one block. 

The third quarter saw a tightly-contested 10 minutes where the Mustangs narrowly outscored the gryphons 17-16 to head into the final quarter with a two point lead. The third quarter Gryphon effort was led by standout 5th-year guard Natalie Vigna who doubled her point total, scoring eight of her 19 points in the frame. After a close start to the final quarter the Gryphons found their next offensive gear with just over three minutes remaining. Led by standout 4th-year guard MacKeely Shantz who scored on three straight Guelph possessions, the Gryphons would close out the game with a 21-7 quarter and 11-1 run to take the victory 76-64.. Shantz finished the game with 11 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. 

The Gryphons (15-6) now sit at 2nd in the OUA's West Division and will finish the season in that position after the Waterloo Warriors defeated the York Lions to clinch 1st-oplace in the division. The U of G women will look to end the 2022-23 OUA regular season on a high note when they head to Windsor on Saturday (Feb. 18) for a rematch with the Lancers. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 6pm and can be seen live, online at www.oua.tv.