Rattlers get Revenge after embarrasing loss at St. Mary's

St. Mary's Lighting travelled down the Trans-Canada hoping to repeat the landslide victory they had at home the night before. The Rattlers had other plans hoping to defend the Snake Pit where they had played well all year. The Game started at a rapid pace with the ball moving around quickly neither team wasting time trying to score. The ball movement was crisp early and the first attempt by both teams fell. 2 steals from Rattler Morgan Muir and some very tough play from both sides saw neither team take an advantage. Both sides were pressing and not giving any space either way. The Lighting held a one-point lead at the break thanks to a last second basket. 18-17

The second quarter looked much like the first with speed and space being at a premium. St. Mary's again seemed to have a slight edge in shots falling but neither team was dominating all aspects of the game. MHC down by 6 at the midpoint of the quarter could have just as easily been up by 4 save a shot or two falling in. the battles continued throughout the rest of the quarter. A close match saw the Lightning up by 3 at the break 38-35.

St. Mary's started with the ball in the second-half but it was Medicine Hat first to strike narrowing the lead to one. A three point play their next time down the court tied the game at 40. Some solid defense and good rebounding from ACAC all time leader Kennedy Werre saw the rattlers take a 3-point lead midway through the third. Both teams refused to give an inch as the battle intensified late into the third. As frustrations grew fouls intensified and both teams looked for an advantage somewhere. St Mary's looked to use their outside shooting and Medicine Hat utilized their size downlow with precision passing. Both teams in bonus, the Rattlers were much more effective in getting to the line than the lightning and wound up ahead 56-48 at the end of the 3^rd quarter.

The Rattlers wasted no time capitalizing first thing in the fourth with Sheridan Popenia scoring early in the 4^th. The Lightning came right back down the court looking to score fast and close the gap quickly. After 2 straight 3's from St. Mary's Sydney Deighton the Rattlers called a timeout. This stopped the flood as the Rattlers went back down the floor scoring 2 straight the other way. A rather expletive comment from the Lightning bench during a quiet period drew a warning from the officials. With a 58 seconds on the clock the Rattlers hoped to take their 8 point lead to the buzzer. And at the close of the Game it was the Rattlers taking it 80-72 winning their half of the home and home.