Lethbridge – While the Lethbridge Pronghorn women's basketball team will face unranked opponents for the first time in three weeks, the games won't be easy as they host a pair of 11-5 teams who are jostling for playoff positioning in the Pacific Division.
 
Friday night the 'Horns host the UBC Thunderbirds and conclude the weekend Saturday night with a contest versus the Victoria Vikes. Friday's tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm, while Saturday's game goes at 5:00pm. Both games will be streamed live on http://canadawest.tv.
 
Saturday night the women's basketball team will also host a 'kids in the crowd' night – the first 100 kids under the age of 16 that come to the women's game will get free admission and a t-shirt.
 
Mired in a four-game losing streak, the Pronghorns (5-11) haven't mathematically been eliminated from the post season picture but one win by the Calgary Dinos in their final six games would officially end their post-season hopes.
 
Both the T-Birds and Vikes have clinched post-season berths but are battling with each other and Fraser Valley for positioning. Heading into the weekend, the Cascades lead both teams by one game for top spot in the Pacific Division. The T-Birds and Vikes will face each other in a home-and-home series during the last weekend of conference play.
 
A look at the teams statistically
 
Offensively the 'Horns have struggled with consistency most of the season and are ranked 15^th in the conference only scoring 56.2 points per game. At the other end of the floor, the 'Horns are ranked ninth, giving up 65.4 points per game, but last Friday night they held the Saskatchewan Huskies, the conference's second ranked offence, to only 58 points.
 
The T-Birds are ranked near the middle of the pack in both offence and defence. They enter Friday's contest ranked seventh offensively, scoring 65.1 points per night, and ranked sixth defensively, allowing 60 points per game.
 
The Vikes enter the weekend with the fourth best offensive attack in the conference scoring 67.7 points per game, while allowing 62.4 points, good enough for the seventh ranked offence in Canada West.
 
Players to watch
Fourth-year post Kim Veldman continues her stellar season and in last Saturday night's game she became the Pronghorn all-time leader in rebounds. She broke Deb Hubbard's record of 582 rebounds and enters the weekend at 586 career rebounds with six games left this season.  On the season, Veldman is third in the conference in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.2 and 9.9 respectively.
 
Kris Young has been an offensive dynamo this season - ranking fifth in the conference in scoring and leading her team in points in all but four of the T-Bird's games this season. She averages 17.6 points per game and is second in Canada West with 60 steals. Harleen Sidhu is the other T-Bird averaging double digits with 14.5 points per night.
 
Jessica Renfrew and Jenna Bugiardini lead the Vikes two-head attack, averaging 13.3 and 12.8 points respectively, while Cassandra Goodis is second in the conference in assist with five per game.