Box Score
LETHBRIDGE – For the second night in a row, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s basketball team nearly kept pace with the number one ranked University of Regina Cougars, but ultimately came up short in a 78-63 contest.
The Cougars were led by senior guard Carly Graham with 17 points, while Lindsay Ledingham and Danielle Schmidt added 14 and 13 respectively. Guard Joanna Zalesiak led her team in assists with eight.
Lethbridge product Kim Veldman led all scorers with 18 and, in her last night in a Pronghorns jersey, fifth year senior Lauren Taal, as well as forward Morgan Cross, added 12 apiece.
The ‘Horns found themselves only down four when the first buzzer sounded and, though their deficit swelled to as many as 14 in the second quarter, the combination of an and-one and a couple of free throws by Morgan Cross and a runner by Taal cut the Cougars lead to five with under a minute to play in the half before Graham scored to bring her team’s lead back to seven.
Continuing to hang around, the ‘Horns kept the Cougars’ lead to under ten in the third stanza, even tying up the score with six minutes on the clock off of a three by Cross facilitated by a Taal steal. Ultimately, the Cougars secured their undefeated regular season in the fourth quarter, where a combination of untimely ‘Horns turnovers and stellar shooting by the Cougars ensured a 63-78 U of R win.
Besides the ‘Horns once again giving the Cougars a run for their money, the big story of the night was the commemoration of graduating senior Lauren Taal’s Pronghorn career. A tearful Donna Branch, head coach for the duration of Taal’s time as a ‘Horn, described the passion and commitment that Taal brought to her team and to the game of basketball. A number of statistics that Branch listed, help quantify the significance of Taal’s contribution to the women’s basketball program. She was one of two female ‘Horns to score 1000 points in her career and is the all-time Pronghorns leader in steals with 192 and three-pointers with 129. She also is second in the record books in assists with 312. On January 28 of this year, Taal set a Canada West record with 13 steals in a game against the Manitoba Bisons. Taal now looks to continue in her basketball career, hoping to secure a professional contract after graduation.
With a strong weekend performance, the ‘Horns end their season 6-14, while the Cougars remain undefeated at 19-0 and will wrap up the conference schedule next week traveling to Saskatoon to face the Saskatchewan Huskies.
