On the plus side, those mid-game lapses are getting shorter for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women's basketball team.

On the downside, it wasn't enough to keep them from an 0-2 weekend following a 76-69 loss to the Calgary Dinos in Canada West play Saturday night at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.

The loss sends the Horns into the holiday break on a two-game skid and at 5-5 after the first semester.

On Saturday, a third quarter lull allowed the Dinos to make their move and erase a 42-38 deficit at the half, out-scoring the Pronghorns 23-10 to take a 61-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Pronghorns won the fourth quarter 17-15, but it wasn't enough to close the gap as the Dinos hit the road with a weekend sweep following a 69-61 win in the weekend opener Friday night.

"For us, it's that consistency piece," said Pronghorns head coach Dave Waknuk. "I think we've shown we can play amongst the best teams and we've shown it all semester. I think the third quarter was the difference. I think that was the difference, but for us, the lapses are smaller but against good teams you can't have lapses without getting punished. There was only about five minutes each game that we would love to get back. But a team like Calgary can do so much in five minutes. So that digs a hole and it's tough for us to get back out. We're happy the lull was less, but that's the piece we have to fix."

Haily Weaver came off the bench and led the Pronghorns with 20 points and eight rebounds. Kyra Collier added 15 points and three rebounds for Lethbridge. Jessica Haenni added 12 points for the Horns.

Weaver also had eight rebounds and Millay Johnson grabbed seven.

"The bright spot was Kyra," said Waknuk. "I think Kyra has been someone who has just gradually improved and has really become a very important piece for us on this team and it's great to see to see the growth in her at the end of the semester"

Louise Rouse paced the Dinos with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Annacy Palmer and Lily Pink each added 12.  Amelie Collin chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds and Pollyanna Storie had five assists.

Pronghorns leading scorers Weaver and Haenni understandably saw a lot of attention from the Dinos during the weekend.

"Calgary is a tough team defensively," said Waknuk. "They put a lot of ball pressure on them and they obviously guarded Jessica hard, but I thought she played really well. I thought she did a lot of other things as well. We always ask her to score, but I thought she was able to move the ball at the point for us and I was happy to see Haily play well. She had 20 points and made good decisions down the stretch."

The Pronghorns now head into the Christmas break at 5-5, good for 10th in the Canada West.

"I said tonight to the team that I was happy with the semester," said Waknuk. "Sure, there are things you're looking at that you would love to have back, a couple wins or a couple bad quarters here and there. But it's a team that got better and a team that you can see the improvement and you can see where it can go. I think at times it's showing glimpses of being a very good team and I think now it's just trying to find that consistency.

"The second semester is obviously a sprint, but I would say this was a successful (semester) because we did get wins where we needed them, we hung with some of the best teams and we know we can play with those teams. I think for us it's to keep that up. We look at Christmas not as time off. It's turning the intensity down, but it's a great chance to get better. There are things we can control and I think that's coming out of this weekend. There are fixable things we can focus on."

The Horns will still get in some practice time over the break, said Waknuk. 

"Obviously we're aware of exams and we're always aware of the stress. We feel with this year being a real Canada West with the full travel and no by-weeks, I can see the stress levels are high. So we'll turn the intensity down, but we're going to keep the important stuff of strength and conditioning, of practices and things where we can still get better. There are ways to improve the team. We're looking at video and doing things that are non-physical as well. We'll take this time to recharge. But I think there is still a chance for improvement."

The Pronghorns shot 36.2 per cent from the field Saturday night, 26.7 from the three-point line and 75 per cent on free throws,

The Dinos were 43.5 per cent from the field, 25.9 per cent from beyond the arc and 75 per cent from the free throw line Saturday.