Pronghorn women’s basketball to rely on mix of youth, veterans in 2025-26

By Lethbridge Herald on October 21, 2025.

Herald photo by Nathan Reiter University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Courtney McKee attempts to drive by a teammate during pratice this week.

By Nathan Reiter

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter- Lethbridge Herald 

The University of Lethbridge Pronghorn women’s basketball team will look to take the next step in 2025-26.

Head coach Dave Waknuk says Lethbridge has a mixture of rookies and veterans on the roster this season.

“We have seven new faces from last year’s squad. We graduated five players last year, which is a lot, and two starters and then some key people in our rotation as well. It’s a new crew, but we’ve got three of our starters back. The other returners were big part pieces of our team. Seven new, seven returning, kind of a mix of both, but we’re happy with who we have in, but it definitely kind of feels like we’re adding new and starting a different chapter.”

Last season, the Pronghorns finished in sixth place in the Prairie Division with a 10-10 record. In the playoffs, Lethbridge knocked off the University of Victoria 84-82 in their first game before bowing out to the University of Alberta Pandas in the Canada West quarterfinals.

One returnee from last year’s team that will look to make an impact is third year guard Courtney McKee. Last season, the Stirling product paced the Pronghorns offensively with 12.8 points per game to lead the team.

McKee says Lethbridge is hoping for more playoff success this season.

“That was really exciting. It definitely lit a fire that we want to get back to the same spot, if not further this year. The returning players have been in that atmosphere before and the newcomers are really excited to try and get there.”

While the team’s long-term goal is to have success in the Canada West playoffs, Waknuk says Lethbridge is looking at getting better and improving as the season goes along.

“I think it’s early to say where it’s going to go. I think our goal is always playoffs, and the fact that we made the playoffs last year and won a first round game, not a lot of teams did that. For us to get a playoff win was a big success. We’re just trying to improve as we go. If we make the playoffs, winning in the playoffs is always a goal.”

Besides McKee, the Pronghorns also return some key contributors from last year including a strong backcourt with fifth year point guard Kamryn DeKlerk and fourth year shooting guard Piper Dobbelsteyn. In the front court, Lethbridge will look to rely on fourth year Raymond product Abby Graves and third year Mhari Mattuli.

Waknuk says Lethbridge has the personnel to give teams a lot of different looks, which should play to their advantage. 

“The speed that we play with and that we can score from a lot of different spots. Our versatility is always kind of our staple of Pronghorns basketball. We have players that were asked to do multiple things and guard multiple positions. Versatility, speed we want to make defense something that we’re proud of as we go and then I just think playing with IQ, making the right decision, playing smart and going from there.”

Lethbridge opens the season on Friday night when they welcome the Calgary Dinos to the Co-op Centre for Sport and Wellness. The women tip off at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m. See Thursday’s Herald for a preview on the Pronghorn men’s team.