Broncos Charm the Rattlers

The Olds College Broncos women's basketball team beat the Medicine Hat College Rattlers in the Make Some Noise for Mental Health Game Friday, Feb. 7 at the Ralph Klein Centre.

It was a slow start in the opening minutes as both teams were playing stellar defense and giving nothing easy in the paint. The few chances that teams did manage to create were mid-range shots that were either rushed or contested. The Rattlers had to rely on foul shots for their first six points. Olds never gave up the lead, and the largest score deficit of the quarter was 15. Michaela Allen-Gullion and Brandi Thibeaux led the Broncos in points combining for 17 as well as helped create multiples chances for their teammates on a few of their possessions. The score was 23-8 at the end of the first.

Another slow start to the quarter with both teams refusing to give anything through the middle sometimes putting three players on anyone challenging the middle. Brittney Thibeaux tried to keep the offense going her presence known throughout the second quarter as well as closing the first earning some of the Broncos first points of the quarter and grabbing multiple rebounds. The Broncos began to find their offensive rhythm a couple minutes in, but the momentum shifted to the Rattlers a bit before the halfway mark and eventually brought the game with 11 as the Broncos

The quickest start to a quarter offensively was by far the 3rd with the Broncos scoring six and the Rattlers scoring eight within the first two minutes. Both teams were fighting hard gathering seven fouls in total with just under four minutes left as Medicine Hat was forced to call a timeout before the Broncos could run away with the game having a score of 54-28 over the Rattlers. Over the next couple minutes before the final quarter the Rattlers were desperately trying to get in the game playing good defense in terms of their shape and transitioning quickly to try to beat the defense before they could get set up. This resulted in several foul shots being converted from the Rattlers players slowly attempting to chip away at the 20 point deficit.

The Broncos decided to go with a more conservative approach to the final quarter, resting most of their starters other than the Thibeaux sisters. This could be partially because of how many minutes they saw in the first three periods, as well as the game they would have to play tomorrow. The Rattlers had a different approach, putting the majority of their starters on and trying to push the ball quickly to try for at least a close finish. The Broncos with their starters back on really started to cement their lead with points coming from everyone on the court and allowing little to nothing outside and especially on the inside. The Broncos were coming close to doubling the Rattlers score near the end of the game and didn't seem like anyone was going to stop them. Medicine Hat eventually called a timeout to put the rest of their bench on the court. The Broncos were relentless up until the last possession with the Thibeaux's scoring the last few points ending the game at 80-39 for the Broncos.

Player of the game for Rattlers was Tatian Dutka with nine points and a team high of 13 rebounds, and the Olds Broncos with the Pit Barbeque player of the game Brittney Thibeaux with game highs of 24 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and three steals.

The Broncos led the game in assists 25-8 and blocks 6-0 while Medicine Hat held the edge in rebounds 44-41 and steals 11-9. Game leaders for the Broncos were Michaela Allen-Gullion with a game high eight assists while Alli Taylor had three steals.

The Broncos host Medicine Hat College again Saturday, February 8 at 1:00 pm for Make Some Noise for Mental Health weekend.

To learn more about Olds College, the Olds College Broncos and the basketball teams go to gobroncos.ca; like the Facebook page and follow @OldsBroncos on Twitter and Instagram.