The Waterloo Warriors women's basketball team has taken another step towards clinching top spot in the OUA West division, and in doing so became the winningest team in program history with 16 wins. 

Vanessa Hughes (Hamilton, ON/) poured in 22 points, and the stifling Warriors defense clamped down at the most important times, as Waterloo claimed their seventh straight victory with a 61-51 triumph over the Toronto Varsity Blues in Saturday afternoon in the provincial capital. The win also keeps Waterloo's road record at an unblemished 10-0 on the season. 

Hughes added 11 boards for a double-double, while Mackenzie Obermayer (Hanover, ON/) added nine points off the bench for Waterloo. Beth Howlett (Burlington, ON/) also chipped in with nine, and Jamie Newell was a beast on the glass, pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.

The win pushes Waterloo's record to 16-4, as they look to lock down top seed in the west division. They sit two games clear of Guelph with only two games to play, so one more victory or Gryphon loss will clinch first place for the Warriors.

The Varsity Blues came out firing, and had the West's best all knotted up at 14-14 after the first quarter. Toronto even took a four-point lead midway through the second, but Waterloo used some staunch defending late in the frame, to turn the tides. The Warriors went on a 15-0 run late in the half, taking a 31-21 lead into the break.

It was more of the same in the third, as a three-pointer by Hughes late in the third stretched Waterloo's lead all the way to 15 points. The Blues pushed back a bit in the fourth, cutting the lead to seven briefly, but another mini-run by the Warriors salted the game away.

Waterloo will now look to clinch the top seed in the West division and an opening round bye when they host the York Lions on Wednesday, February 15 at 6pm as part of Senior Night.