Lethbridge- After opening the conference schedule with two consecutive home weekends, the Lethbridge Pronghorn women’s basketball team (3-1 CW) heads out on the road, facing provincial rival Alberta Pandas (2-2 CW) in Edmonton.
 
Coming into a season of uncertainty the ‘Horns have gotten off to an exceptional start, highlighted by last Friday’s win over the CIS sixth ranked Saskatchewan Huskies. It was the ‘Horns first win in more than three years over the Huskies.
 
Relying heavily on the five starters, solid defensive play and a balanced attack has seen the ‘Horns achieve early season success. Ranked fifth in the conference defensively, allowing 62 points a game and three starters averaging double digits in points has the ‘Horns sitting tied for second in the Prairie division. The ‘Horns also lead the conference in three point percentage at 42.6%.
 
Ali Cameron leads the way for the ‘Horns offensively averaging 15.3 points per night, while Kim Veldman and Erin Skippon are chipping in with 13.8 and 11.5 respectively.
 
This weekend will also mark a bit of a home coming for first-year ‘Horns bench boss Erin McAleenan, who spent the three previous seasons as an assistant coach with the Pandas.
 
For the Pandas it was expected a revamped roster would be in the mix for a post-season position in the always competed Canada West but they have had mixed results to start the season. After starting with two convincing wins over the conference light weight Brandon Bobcats, the Pandas were swept last weekend by the Calgary Dinos in Calgary.
 
While the Pandas are ranked second in the conference defensively, that stat can be a bit misleading as they only gave up 65 points combined in their weekend sweep of Brandon, they allowing 65 and 76 points respectively last weekend in Calgary.
 
Offensively, while only having one player averaging double digits in points, the Pandas are ranked fifth in the conference with 69.5 points per night. Anneka Bakker leads the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game.
 
Tip-off for both Friday and Saturday night’s game is set for 6:00pm in Edmonton and Both games will be broadcast at www.canadawest.tv, home for all Canada West webcasts.
 
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