It seems the Nipissing Lakers women's basketball team can't catch a break.

Friday night wasn't their best game, however, they came to play Saturday and put in a great effort, battled for all 40 minutes, but still fell short, losing 89-74 to the Western Mustangs.

The shorthanded Lakers put up a great fight and had the game tied at 66, but from there, the Mustangs stayed just far enough ahead of Nipissing to defeat them.

Each team had an advantage for two quarters, but the Mustangs scored an eight point victory in the first as well as a 10 points win in the fourth, which ended up being enough to give them the edge.

With the score 12-9 in the first, Western kind of took off and picked up their shooting and finished the first with a 22-14 lead, outscoring the Lakers 10-5 in the final four minutes.

In the second, the teams combined for 47 points, with the Lakers holding a 24-23 edge, but still trailed 45-38 at halftime.

Nipissing was able to score 12 straight points, however, as they trailed 31-19 before tying the game up.

Western regained their composure and grabbed the lead before the break, but a great push had the Lakers right in the hunt for a victory.

The Lakers once again cut into the lead, outscoring Western 20-18 in the third, setting themselves up for a late push to tie and attempt to win the game.

The Mustangs had other plans, however, as they poured it on late, outscoring Nipissing 26-16 in the final quarter to seal the win.

???????Nipissing deserved better, but can take a lot of positives and build off a very strong effort.

Claire Abbott had a monster game and led the Lakers with 34 points, Heidi Smith had 11 and Sarah Layefsky added nine for Nipissing.

The Lakers are back at it on the road, facing Ryerson and Toronto next weekend in search of their first win of the young OUA season.