Rattlers beat Broncos

The 4-2 Tucumcari Rattlers go into the holiday break with a 66-31 win against the 3-8 Floyd Broncos on Friday.

QCS Staff Photo: James Lout

Mia Baker shoots the lay-up against Lady Demons' Heria Lopez.

The win gives the Rattlers a good momentum shift following a 68-52 loss the previous night to the 7-2 Dexter Demons.

"We need to be ready to play there are no easy opponents," said John Span Rattlers head coach.

Span said at this point in the season the Rattlers are still ironing out some of the basic and mental mistakes made early in the season. He said ball control and turnovers are two of the top priorities he'd like to see the team address.

"We knew they could play. They are a tough team and we look forward to seeing them again," Span said.

The Demons were able to capitalize on the steals only 40 percent of the time, as they would either miss a open lay-up or turn the ball back over to the Rattlers.

"We should have been able to come away with more points, said James Voight Demons head coach.

Voight said the Demons were able to play their type of game keeping a fast pace up and down the court.

Lady Rattlers take second win

QCS Staff Photo: James Lout

Zach McElroy splits the defenders and goes up for the shot Thursday night at Rattler Gym.

The Lady Rattlers edge past the 8-3 Lady Broncos 57-53 Friday night in Floyd for their second win of the season.

Improving to 2-5 the Lady Rattlers held of the Lady Broncos to go into the break with the win and time to work on their game.

"We need to play 32 minutes of basketball," said Gary Hittson, Lady Rattlers head coach.

Hittson said the team needs to eliminate turnovers and push themselves to play tough throughout the game.

The Lady Rattlers went into Friday's game following a 61-53 loss to the 4-5 Lady Demons.

Ball control was an issue for the Lady Rattlers who turned the ball over 30 times, the Lady Demons defense stole the ball 27 times though were only able to score 10 times.

While the Lady Rattlers were able to out rebound the Lady Demons, they would miss the open layup or failed to set their offense into motion.

"Rebounds have been an issue for us," said Kim Hamill, Lady Demons head coach.

Hamill said the team will have to continue to work to control the glass and boxing out.

"We have got to run our offense and play our game," Hittson said. "We missed way to many open shots and turned the ball over because we were not running our offense."

Hittson said the team needs to play tough defense and not make mistakes such as fouling when they turn the ball over.