Pronghorns hoopsters win home openers
Some tough defence, a little offensive flair when they needed it and two first-year players making a fine Canada West debut helped give the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s basketball team a season-opening win.
The Horns downed the Brandon Bobcats 8458 in Canada West action at the 1st Choice Savings Centre for a 1-0 start to the season.
The Pronghorns outscored the Bobcats to 289 in the third quarter to put distance between themselves and the visitors as veteran Zoe Dahl led the way with 18 points and Kathryn Hankins added 14.
Meanwhile, a pair of first-year Pronghorns who had seen plenty of the 1st Choice Savings Centre as high school athletes enjoyed fine university debuts as Jessica Zarowny also hit double digits with 10 points and Amy Mazutinec added nine.
“I thought it was a really good team effort,” said Pronghorns assistant coach Dave Waknuk. “We talked a lot about defence through the preseason, so we’re happy with our defensive work. Brandon was a playoff team last year and to hold a team like that to 58 says a lot about our D. Scoring is obviously something every team wants to do, but we’re happy with the way we played defensively, especially in the third quarter. That really changed the game.
“Zoe is our fifth-year leader as far as the scoring and she definitely did that tonight with 18 points.”
“She was eight-of-14 from the field and pretty efficient. We had Katie give us 14, Jessica give us 10. Amy had nine points and five rebounds and Amy had six (rebounds). They’re two high school kids who last played here for the Junior Horns. They come in in their first game and that’s a pretty fun opening for them.”
The Pronghorns will go for a sweep tonight with the tip-off at 5 p.m.
Pronghorn Danielle Fritzke shot three-for-four from beyond the arc for nine points.
On the men’s side, the Pronghorns also earned a home-opening win.
They did it in entertaining fashion, topping the Bobcats 94-89 as the teams go at it in the rematch tonight at 7 p.m.
“It was just a really slow start, the guys were nervous, I think, playing in front of the home crowd in the first game of the year,” said Pronghorns head coach Mike Hansen. “We were just really struggling to score and I think once we settled down in the second quarter we kind of broke out a little bit and put up some points. We found our rhythm and controlled the ball a little more. But we have to do a better job of getting stops when we need them. But you know what? We’re a work in progress, so I’ll take every ugly win I can get.”
Dejon Burdeaux led the Pronghorns with 26 points. Saren Westrop and Zac Overwater each hit for 14 points for Lethbridge and Kyle Peterson added 12.
Burdeaux also hauled in nine boards.