Lightning Sweep Weekend over Rattlers
The Lightning headed into Medicine hat to take on the Rattlers in the Snake Pit. Medicine hat was hoping to avoid the same result as the night before and came out running. A quick steal and another stop saw the Rattlers take the first three scores of the game. A Lightning miss and a trip to the line for the Rattlers saw them take an 8-0 lead. Finally the Lightning responded with a basket inside. Coming right back down the floor the Rattlers nailed a dagger 3 at the end of the shot clock and forced St. Mary's to take an early timeout with 6:07 on the clock, down 11-2. The Lightning used their break well and scored 5 quick points to come out of the meeting. Another quick basket saw the Rattler lead down to 2. A three coming off a rattler miss saw the Lightning take the lead 12-11. Medicine Hat answered with a quick bucket and the lead. This flipped back and forth as the teams traded baskets. The score remained close as the Lightning led 18-17 at the quarter.
The second quarter started with misses on both ends of the court before the lightning made an uncontested shot in the paint. From here both defences came up with solid stops and play was once again very tight. Neither team was giving an inch on defence and every basket was crucial. The lightning took a small 25-20 lead and the Rattlers took a timeout in response. Out of the break the home side was able to narrow the lead to 2 as the clock passed 5 minutes. The Lightning were quickly able to restore their lead thanks to 2 Rattler turnovers. Medicine Hat continued to be cold shooting, missing on 4 straight trips down the floor. This saw the Lightning take a 42-31 lead.
The Lightning came out of the break on a 7-0 run to start the half. This forced the Rattlers to take a timeout in an effort to regroup. The Rattlers were able to answer off the meeting and came out hard scoring some quick baskets. The Lightning were able to maintain their lead, answering when the Rattlers scored. Holding a double digit lead, the Lightning struggled to score until an unsportsmanlike was called on the Rattlers swinging the momentum back. The game became harder fought as the intensity on the court ramped up. As the time ran down in the quarter the lead was reduced to 8 as the Rattlers were slowly chipping away. A last second basket saw the lead back to 10, 65-55 but the home side had started to close in.
The 4th started with a quick exchange of buckets at both ends. The Rattlers got to the line early with a drive but unable to convert from the stripe. The furious play continued with every loose ball fought over. The Rattlers refused to go away no matter how many daggers came from the Lightning. The scoring stalled as defence became the determining factor of play. Just a 9 point margin with 3 minutes on the clock there was opportunity for both teams in the game. The Rattlers failed to produce on offence looking for 3 and the lightning were using every second of the shot clock. This worked as the Lightning took the game 82-70.