U of L women start fast, finish strong

The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns women’s basketball team got up and didn’t let up.

Now, they are quarter-finals bound following a 99-60 win over the Manitoba Bisons in Canada West play-in action Friday night at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.

The Pronghorns jumped out to an early 9-0 lead and didn’t let up the rest of the way, building on a strong third-quarter on their way to the win in the program’s first home playoff game in 25 years.

Up 46-25 at the half, the Horns kept the pressure on to start the second half, draining another 29 points in the third quarter to seal the convincing win which lets them play for another week against an opponent to be determined.

“That was basically the message, don’t let up,” said Pronghorns veteran Kathryn Hankins, who came off the bench to score 16 points, one of seven Horns to top the 10point mark Friday. “It’s something we struggled with all season, so that’s something we’ve been working on in the past few weeks, especially this semester, getting off to a good start and keeping it going.”

Kacie Bosch and Amy Mazutinec led Lethbridge with 17 points each, Asnate Fomina had 14 points and Danielle Fritzke, Jessica Zarowny and Isabel Rattai each had 10.

Fomina had eight assists and Bosch added six, while Katie Keith had 10 rebounds.

Lethbridge shot 43.2 per cent from the field, 36 per cent from three-point range and 82.4 per cent from the line.

“We emphasize our starts so much and there have been games where we’ve had lapses,” said Pronghorns interim head coach Dave Waknuk. “I think we wanted to make sure in this game at home we didn’t have lapses and I felt we played pretty consistently throughout. For us to build off of it and keep pushing, I think it’s a good sign for us. It shows we’re on the path we want to be on and we want to keep this momentum going into next week.”

Friday’s outing with seven players in double digits, combined with 26 assists, helped that cause.

“We had 26 assists so it shows we played unselfish basketball and that’s been something that has been consistent for us when we played well. We’re really happy to see that tonight,” said Waknuk.

One of three graduating players that includes Fritzke and Logan Moncks, Hankins is enjoying the ride.

“It’s awesome,” said the product of Chehalis, Wash. “I’ve been here for three years and comparing it to my first year where was ‘Maybe will get into the playoffs’ and in my second year we had a really good chance of getting in. This time, it was just natural. It’s just awesome to see how the program has turned around. It’s a fun time.”