Box Score Lethbridge - Having already compiled half the wins of last year’s season, first year head coach Erin McAleenan can breathe a little easier as the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s basketball team completed a sweep of the University of Winnipeg Wesmen with a 55-52 victory Saturday night. 
 
Ali Cameron led the ‘Horns in scoring once again with 16 points and Queens-transfer Erin Skippon added ten.  Point guard Katlyn Olsen took care of other business, grabbing eight rebounds and distributing eight assists.  Once again, Wesmen guard Yael Kaplan led all scorers with 19.
 
The Wesmen jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, building a ten point advantage on a 12-2 run.  The ‘Horns rallied back, however, largely due to the efforts of their bench.  “It really shows how much faith Erin has in all her players,” said Olsen.  “Because Erin believes in a whole team effort, every player feels confident in their role and I think that really showed when Dani (Sheen) and Taylor (Crozon) came in and got some big boards for us and Lauren (Tolley) hit a big three.  We believe every member contributes to our win.”  Those efforts brought the score to even at the first quarter buzzer and the teams remained entangled within about three points of each other for the following two stanzas.  The fourth quarter opened with a 40-41 Wesmen lead, which was quickly overturned by three unanswered treys, a pair from Cameron and one from fifth-year Stephanie Inman.  The Wesmen slowly chipped away at the ten point deficit, however, and Alyssa Grant cashed in from beyond the arc inside the two minute mark to cut the differential to five.  Kaplan, the Wesmen’s leading scorer, went to the line with a minute to play and exchanged a pair of free throws for a 55-52 score.  In the closing seconds, the ‘Horns’ defensive efforts compensated for their lack of capitalization on offence and the Wesmen failed to get a shot off that could have tied the game. 
 
Coach McAleenan noted significance of the opening weekend for both herself and her team.  “There is definitely a lot of pressure leading up to the first home games.  Any time you are going into your opening weekend, there are a lot of unknowns.  Winnipeg is a good team and they do a lot of things well and there was definitely some nervousness as to whether we could come out and compete for 40 minutes. “  She hopes that the pair of wins this weekend will help build a sense of confidence in her new team as they progress through the season.  “ You can’t instill confidence in kids,” continued McAleenan.  “It has to be earned by winning games.  Having success comes from past experience.  Winnipeg is a good team, but we were able to ride the highs and low and finish games with a win, which is important.”
 
Olsen added that Coach McAleenan’s positivity and intensity are also major contributors to their team’s early success.  She feels that the new bench boss has brought high expectations for her team and has cultivated an atmosphere that Olsen has seen contribute to her own success already.  “The respect I have for her makes it easy to come everyday and try my best because I know she is doing the same.”
 
The ‘Horns will try to build on this early success and will face the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday, November 9 at the 1^st Choice Savings Centre at 6:00.  The game will be webcast at canadawest.tv. The Wesmen return home to host the Regina Cougars next weekend