Looking to break a five-game losing streak, the Mustangs opened up the second half of conference play against UT – Permian Basin.

Sara Lopez (El Paso, Texas/Horizon High School) would get Western on the board first connecting on a jumper, Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa) followed up with one of her own to give the Lady Mustangs a 4-0 lead through the first four minutes of play.

By the first media Western would go up by 9, and leave their opponent scoreless for most of the quarter. Paulina Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico/Montverde Academy ) went 3-for-3 from the perimeter to lead all scorers with 9 points through two quarters as the Lady Mustangs took a 32-18 lead going into the half after a last minute shot from Kayla Clark (Mesa, Arizona/Dobson High School).

While the Falcons managed to score the first three points of the third quarter, Rodriguez would answer with back-to-back threes of her own to increase the lead to 17.

Hitting 6-for-7 through three quarters, tallying 18 points, Rodriguez could not be stopped.

The fourth quarter was quiet for Western, until a three from Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa) sparked a scoring run. With a minute thirty left in the game the Lady Mustangs had to get past a aggressive Falcon defense to maintain their lead.

As time ran out, despite a being outscored 15-13, Western took home a 56-43 lead, breaking a five-game losing streak.

Paulina Rodriguez (Chihuahua, Mexico/Montverde Academy ) led all scorers with 18 points, shooting an impressive 85.7 percent from three-point range. Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa) followed up with 13 points of her own.

As a team Western shot 40.7 percent from the floor, 53.3 percent from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent from the foul line.

The Western women will look to continue their winning ways this Saturday when they look to avenge their loss earlier in the season to Texas Woman's. Game time is set for 2 p.m.