The injury riddled women's basketball team put up a strong fight on Friday night but came up short in a 54-48 loss to Western.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 22-15 lead after the opening quarter and held that lead the rest of the way. Western finished the game with a 41.1 shooting percentage while Waterloo shot 31.8%.

Kailtyn Overeem had her second best output in her young Warrior career putting up an impressive 22 points in 33 minutes. Meagan Sharp continued her strong play of late with a double-double (10 points, 16 rebounds) while Beth Howlett (Burlington) and Ella Mahler (Hamilton/) rounded out Waterloo's offence with eight and seven points respectively.

Maddy Horst led Western in scoring with 17 points while Laura Graham put up 15.

Waterloo is now 4-12 on the season just two points out of fifth in the ultra-tight OUA west.

The black and gold get a four game home stand underway on Friday against Laurier in the first Battle of Waterloo of 2019. Tip-off is at 6pm.