Rattlers sophomore Jakus Martinez shoots a 3-pointer over Lions senior Ricardo Roybal during Friday night's district game at the Snake Pit.

Rattlers junior Haley Valverde goes up for the lay-up against a Lady Lion defender. Valverde scored 8 points during Friday night's loss to the Lady Lions.

The Tucumcari Rattlers suffered a pair of home court losses from their district rivals, the Santa Rosa Lions, Friday night at the Snake Pit.

The Lady Rattlers lost 57-25 to the Lady Lions.

Leading the Lady Lions ferocious attack were juniors Ashley Chavez, who had 12 points, and Sara Tapia with 7 points.

Many of the errors that have plagued the Lady Rattlers in the regular season took their toll on the team Friday night.

The Lady Rattlers missed key passes which led to turnovers, and their shots were hurried and off the mark. Several times players had an open look at the basket but chose to pass the ball rather then shoot.

"If we could make a shot from the paint we would be dangerous," Lady Rattlers head coach Gary Hittson said. "They kept passing the ball instead of taking the open shot and that hurt us tonight. I really think we had a chance to win tonight."

The Lady Lions wasted no opportunities turning the costly turnovers into points extending their led.

Trying to stay in the game the Lady Rattlers put together a series of offensive drives led by senior Kaitlin Lopez, 9 points, and junior Haley Valverde, 8 points.

"We need to work on finding and taking the open shots," Valverde said. "Sometimes we are not in the right position and we miss the shot."

Boys

The Santa Rosa Lions combined a speedy offensive attack and a full court man-to-man defense to beat the Rattlers 77-32 Friday night.

Taking care of the ball was a problem for the Rattlers, as turnovers turned into points for the Lions.

The Lions offense was led by senior Jeff Reeves, 18 points, and junior Andres Sisneros, 12 points.

Trailing by 30 points at the start of the second half, the Rattlers players were met by the same aggressive and fast paced Lions they faced in the first half.

Lions head coach Frank Ortiz rotated a fresh set of legs in between series, subbing in five rested players from the bench.

This strategy helped to keep the Rattlers off balance. The Rattlers who do not have a bench as deep couldn't compensate with a similar tactic.

The Rattlers battled through the deficit led by sophomore Jakus Martinez, 10 points, and senior Andrew Francis, 9 points.

Several times the Rattlers were trapped in the back court trying to advance the ball with wild passes, which were picked up by the Lions defenders.

The Rattlers play at 5 p.m. Friday against the Clayton Yellowjackets at Tucumcari.