Lions Keep Rattlers Winless

            The Ambrose Lions took on the Medicine Hat College Rattlers for the second time this week on Saturday afternoon. Ambrose dominated the previous matchup 90-47 and looked to follow up that performance at home.

            Picking up right where they left off last game the Lions jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the opening five minutes. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the quarter. The Rattlers picked it up offensively a little bit, but the Lions closed out the quarter ahead 23-8 behind Kamsiyochi Ugbudibe's 9 points and 4 rebounds.

            The Rattlers picked it up offensively in the second quarter as their transition and ball movement improved significantly. However, the Lions still showed that they are the stronger team, winning the quarter 20-15 to take a 20-point lead going into the break. Normally a dominant rebounding team, the Lions gave up 10 offensive boards in the first half leading to 11 second chance points for the Rattlers. On the other side, the Lions put up impressive defensive numbers in the first half with 4 blocks – all from Ogbudibe – and 11 steals.

            The second half started out much slower, with only 2 points being scored in the opening 2 ½ minutes of the quarter. The scoring remained low until the closing minutes of the quarter as the Lions kept the Rattlers off the offensive boards. Andrijana Bokan dominated in the low post for the Lions reaching 22 points in the game by the end of the third. Outscoring the Rattlers 19-9 in the quarter the Lions headed to the fourth leading 62-32.

            The final quarter was another lower scoring affair with Ambrose putting up their lowest total of the game of 16. Shooting efficiency was the difference maker as the Rattlers were held to 24.6% from the field while the Lions sat comfortable at 46.3%. ACAC Player of the Game honors were given to Medicine Hat's #15 Grace Kitenge and Ambrose's #9 Nya Gach. Kitenge led her team in scoring with 12 points off the bench including shooting 2-2 from three.

            With the win Ambrose moves to 7-5 on the season to tie with Lethbridge College for third place in the South while the Rattlers remain winless on the season. Red Deer Polytechnic sits one place behind Ambrose in the standings and they will face off in back-to-back games next week that could solidify Ambrose's place in the top four in the South division.