Rattlers win over Clippers to Split Weekend.
The Briercrest Clippers were in the Snake Pit for the second time in as many days to face off against the Rattlers. Hoping to avenge a tough loss the night previous, The Rattlers got off to a fast start scoring on their first possession and coming up with 2 defensive stops. The Clippers tied it up at 2 off a Rattlers miss, but the Home Side responded with a basket and a steal going up 6-2 early in the quarter. A single free throw saw the Clippers get within 3. The game remained close with both teams applying heavy defensive pressure. Midway through, both teams started to find a groove on offence and the score started to climb. With 2 minutes left on the clock, the Rattlers lead 17-16 following a Clippers 3. The Rattlers regained a bit more of an advantage late with the help of Kate Rozdeba scoring in the paint and getting to the line. By the end of the quarter the lead was 9 with the Rattlers up 25-16.
The second quarter started with the Clippers reducing the Rattler lead to 5 quickly. The Rattlers could not find the basket early going 0 for their first 4 trips down the floor. They finally scored again to keep their 5 point advantage. Up 31-26, the Rattlers called their first timeout with 5:43 left on the clock. the Rattlers scored 2 more points barely increasing their lead but still forcing the Clippers to take a timeout. Again both teams started to struggle to score in the middle of the frame. With the time nearing 2 minutes, both sides finally broke their drought and the score was 37-30 for the Rattlers. Able to stop the Clippers on Defense, the Rattlers again extended their lead late in the quarter all the way to 10. This is where the half ended with the Rattlers leading 40-30.
The Third quarter started with a turnover on both ends of the court to start the half. Both sides defense was playing tough. Medicine Hat lost one of their stars in Morgan Muir who rolled her ankle early in the quarter. The Clippers used this to gain momentum and narrow the Rattlers lead quickly. At the midway point, the score read 47-41 with the Rattlers still in the lead. Muir came out of the Training room with 4 munites on the clock but did not check back in right away. After a quick tape job, Muir checked back in with 2:30 on the clock. The Rattlers had started to rack up fouls and saw two of their 'bigs' in foul trouble with 4 each. Paige Cooper fouled out for MHC in the 3rd, but the home side continued to stay just ahead of Briercrest. At the end of the 3rd the Rattlers held a 53-42 lead.
The Fourth quarter opened with a Rattlers Miss and a Clipper layup from Angenay Williams opened up the scoring quickly. Muir got to the line for the Rattlers early to help maintain the lead. The teams traded baskets and misses on both ends as the lead remained 10 with the Rattlers up 56-46. The Clippers took their first timeout with 7:12 left in the game. Both teams had players in foul trouble on the court, but play started to intensify even with this. The 10 point lead did not change as the Rattlers were able to answer the Clippers on every point they could put up. The battle was very intense all the way into the final minutes of the game. The Rattlers were up 67-54 with 51 seconds on the clock. Medicine Hat took a timeout to make sure they did not lose their lead in the late stages of the game. The Rattlers held on to take a 69-54 victory.
The ACAC Players of the game were Amber Tilcox for Briercrest and Tatiana Dutka for MHC.