LONDON, Ont. - The Mustangs finished up their exhibition play against NCAA opponents Wednesday afternoon, falling to the Eastern Michigan Eagles 83-58. The Mustangs held a slim one point advantage at halftime but offensive rebounding and strong defence from the Eagles allowed them to pull away in the second half for the victory.

The Mustangs are now 2-3 in their preseason play against NCAA Division 1 schools. Western split two games against IUPUI, they beat the University of Tennessee-Martin and fell twice to Eastern Michigan. Western will be back in action Oct. 13 against York in Shoot for the Cure fundraiser exhibition game.

Rebecca Moss was the bright spot for the Mustangs offense with five three pointers as well as five rebounds. Matteke Hutzler  played solid in the paint adding 11 points to go with her eight rebounds. 

BOX SCORE

The Mustangs struggled to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball against the aggressive zone of the Eagles to start the game. The Eagles started on a 11-2 run before the Mustangs woke up and were able to close Eastern Michigan's lead to 17-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Western closed the gap to two points but costly turnovers kept the Eagles in the lead for the majority of the second quarter. However, Western went on a late run just before the half that was keyed by two three-pointers from Moss, including one at the buzzer. This gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game and led 37-36 at the half.

Eastern Michigan picked up the tempo to start the third quarter going on a 10-1 run to lead 46-38. The Eagles continued their pressure and Mustangs turnovers led to Eastern Michican extending their lead to 60-48 at the end of the third quarter.

The Eagles looked to be the fresher of the two teams playing on back-to-back days as they continued to push the pace in the fourth quarter. Eastern Michigan converted Western turnovers into fast break points to extend their lead to win 83-58.