When their initial lead evaporated Wednesday, the Marauders found themselves battling from behind by the end of the first quarter in Windsor. A steady climb back into the contest was eventually undone in the game's final few minutes, as Mac suffered its first loss of the calendar year.

The U SPORTS no. 3-ranked Marauders had an eight-game winning streak snapped, as they fell 71-64 to the Lancers to move to 13-3 in conference play.

Mac guard Hilary Hanaka reached the 20-point plateau for the sixth time this season, shooting eight of 17 from the field and four of nine from three-point range, while adding six assists.

But the Marauders were undone on the glass, where Windsor pulled down 41 rebounds to McMaster's 24 and subsequently made 16 trips to the free throw line versus Mac's five.

The most efficient scorer on the Marauders side was Christina Buttenham, who knocked down seven of her 13 attempts from the field and three of five from three-point range, and ended the night with 17 points.

Opening the night with a 7-0 run, the Marauders watched as their lead was quickly chipped away, and relinquished it with just over two minutes to play in the quarter. The second of two made free throws from Kayah Clarke pushed Windsor ahead 16-15, and when the Lancers followed with two more successful possessions to end the first, the hosts enjoyed a 21-15 lead.

Momentum stayed with the Lancers through much of the second, with Windsor embarking on a 15-5 run to its biggest lead of the half at 36-20, before McMaster responded with a 10-0 run to pull with six at the break. The capper came via Linnaea Harper who drew contact underneath and made the contested shot before hitting the resulting free throw at the buzzer.

Another run midway through the third quarter saw McMaster reel off three consecutive baskets, including a Hanaka triple, to take a lead at 41-40, before the teams effectively traded shots down the stretch to finish the frame locked at 50.

After the Lancers blazed out of the quarter break to score the first seven points, the Marauders worked their way back into striking distance and closed within one possession at 63-61 when Buttenham hit a three with 3:11 to play.

But that was as close as McMaster would come, with Windsor scoring eight of the final 11 points of the night to race to the finish line.

NEXT UP: The Marauders season continues Saturday, January 23 with a trip to Waterloo to take on the Warriors. That game gets underway at 6:00 p.m. and can be seen live on OUA.tv.