Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Short-handed for the second-straight weekend due to injuries – down to just eight healthy players – the Griffins women's basketball team gritted it out and produced one of their best offensive games in recent memory.

Shooting an impressive 50.9 per cent from the field, the Griffins pushed the Lethbridge Pronghorns before falling behind late and losing 92-84 on Friday night.

"We found a couple things that worked well, and we had some players make some shots, which was pretty fun," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams.

Mackenzie Farmer led MacEwan with 28 points, going 12-for-14 from the free-throw line, while Mikah Reed shot 6-for-12 from the three-point line (one off the program record) to finish with 18 points.

Shannon Majeau nearly hit a double double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

"Mac was assertive, she was aggressive," said Adams of Farmer. "She started the game out trying to get to the rim and did a really good job finding her moments and separation in space to create those opportunities for herself. 

"We did a good job as a team finding her and feeding her when things were going her way."

Reed was especially effective late in the game as the Griffins erased a 13-point deficit in the second half and took the lead halfway through the fourth quarter.

"The second half was pretty exciting," said Adams. "They went zone and I think we did a good job executing and finding shooters. Mikah had a great night for us tonight and really fueled a run. We were down 13 and came back to take the lead."

But a few turnovers and missed shots in the final few minutes proved to be the difference between a win and a loss for the Griffins. 

"A few turnovers at the end that led to some easy buckets for them played into that," said Adams. "And a little bit of pressure coming from them. Overall, I'm really pleased with our performance and fight tonight."

With the result, the Griffins fall to 2-15, while the Pronghorns improve to 6-11.

The teams will meet again on Saturday (5 p.m., Canada West TV).