MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 10 Bethel Lady Wildcats shot only 28 percent from the field Tuesday night and fell to the No. 8 Lady Lions of Freed-Hardeman 66-45 in Crisp Arena. FHU beat the Lady Cats ten days ago in Henderson 56-50 in overtime.
Bethel dropped to 2-3 on the early season while FHU remained unbeaten at 5-0.
The Lady Lions grabbed a 3-0 lead and never trailed in the game. FHU led at the end of the first quarter 16-7 and increased their lead at halftime to 30-19. Bethel scored the first four points of the third quarter but after a FHU timeout the Lady Lions jumped out to a 45-28 lead and controlled the game the rest of the way.
FHU shot 46 percent from the floor hitting 27-of-58 shots on the night. After being outrebounded 50-36 in Henderson in their earlier meeting the Lady Lions snapped back in the victory with a 33-28 advantage on the boards. Bethel was just 7-of-20 from the foul line which stymied their momentum several times in the contest.
Freed's Taleeah Cross led all scorers with 25 points. Kim Mallory followed with 15 points. Tiffany Pate dominated the glass snatching down a game high 16 rebounds. Morgan Martin led Bethel with 13 points while Shamon Pearson had 12 points for the Lady Wildcats.
Coach Chris Nelson said, "FHU played well and we did not. We continued to struggle on the offensive end and simply did not have a good night. This is a process and I encourage our fans to stick with us. We are still meshing together trying to find our identity. I am not making excuses but because of injuries we have not been able to have a set unit out there at times. I'm confident we will start making shots and with that our team's confidence will improve." He added, "We are excited about the Rotary Classic this weekend and look forward to getting back on the court. We are letting them have Wednesday off and enjoy Thanksgiving with their families. We will get back in here Thursday night and get ready for the weekend."
In the earlier women's game No. 6 Vanguard beat Hiwassee 88-40.
Bethel returns to action this weekend in the 2016 Jackson Rotary Classic in Jackson. They meet No. 3 Our Lady of the Lake Friday night at 9 p.m. Bethel plays No. 18 Great Falls Saturday night at 7 p.m. The games will be aired on WEIO, 100.9 and streamed live at the following link: www.campbellsvilletigers/watch
