Stingers Defeat Rattlers 93-77 to Remain Undefeated
Only one undefeated team remains.
Brody Clarke’s 18 points helped the Edmonton Stingers (4-0) hand the Saskatchewan Rattlers (3-1) their first loss of the season in a 93-77 win.
Clarke was all over the scoresheet tonight, hitting two shots from beyond the arc, grabbing four rebounds, and blocking a shot.
The Stingers’ bench was also key in the win, outscoring the Rattlers’ bench 38-11. Leading the way was Ben Krikke who had 14 points, six rebounds, and one block in 13 minutes of play.
“I’m grateful for all the minutes, I can get,” Krikke said. “We got a very deep team. So, whatever role I can have and contribute to a win, I’m very happy with.”
Despite the loss tonight, Rattler guard Elijah Harkless had a fantastic game. Harkless scored 25 points on 40 per cent shooting, snagged eight rebounds, and dished the ball out for five assists.
The first quarter started slow with both teams trying to find their footing. It was the Stingers’ stifling defence that held the Rattlers to 11 first-quarter points and forced turnovers leading to some easy scores and a 22-11 Edmonton lead after one.
Stinger’s head coach Jordan Baker reflected after the game on how they prepared for the Rattlers defensively coming into this match-up.
“I think we know when they’re successful who does most of the damage for them,” Baker said. “So, you know, we wanted to make sure we had at least somewhat of a plan in place…I thought we did a good job, playing hard in the first quarter, and sticking to what we wanted to do, and I think the biggest thing we did was defensive rebounded well.”
Despite coming into the second quarter down double digits, the Rattlers found their offence and fought back. Elijah Harkless caught fire, scoring 10 points, and knocking down two shots from beyond the arc to help cut down Edmonton's lead to three to end the first half.
“I was just giving us some hope, you know. The Stingers came out aggressive, playing super fast. I’m glad I could help the team in the second quarter,” Harkless said when asked about his hot hand in the second quarter. “I didn’t finish the job, but we learned a lot today.”
The battle continued into the third. Edmonton had an answer for every Saskatchewan bucket. The Stingers were finally able to pull away near the end of the quarter, hitting back-to-back threes to extend their lead 68-58 to end the third quarter.
With only four games played so far in the season, the Stingers look like a well-oiled machine. Jordan Baker spoke on how they managed to form team chemistry too quickly.
“I think it comes from us having four returning players that all play significant roles for us,” Baker said. “We want to play a certain way; we want to play unselfishly. We want to focus on defence and if you want to get along, you got to make sure that you focus on the right things and our leadership group has done a great job.”
The Stingers took over in the fourth, building on their lead and never looking back. Edmonton remains undefeated with the 93-77 win over Saskatchewan.
“We were never going to go undefeated, we’ll go back and watch the film,” Saskatchewan Rattlers head coach Larry Abney said when asked about the loss. “We’ll see where we tighten up and prepare for the next opponent.”
What’s next for both teams?
The Stingers look to remain undefeated when they face-off against the Vancouver Bandits this Tuesday. As for the Rattlers, they look to get back in the win column when they take on the Calgary Surge this Wednesday.
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