JACKSON. Tenn. – The No. 10 Bethel Lady Wildcats jumped out to an early lead and upset No. 3 Our Lady of the Lake 78-70 Friday night in the 2016 Jackson Rotary Classic.
Bethel led 20-4 with 2:46 left in the first quarter and maintained a double digit margin throughout the first half. Shamon Pearson scored 15 of her game high 18 points in the first two quarters and enabled Bethel to lead at the break 45-32. OLLU scored the first seven points of the third quarter and on two occasions cut the Lady Wildcat lead to six. Cayla Sheets, Madison Steppee and Abbey Dew picked up the scoring slack in the third and fourth quarters and led Bethel to the victory.
Along with Pearson in double figures, Dew finished with 12 points while Sheets finished with 11 points. Steppee had 10 points and seven rebounds. Mariah McKenty had eight points and a game high ten rebounds. Bethel's Morgan Martin had seven points and five boards. Bri Fields had five tallies while Ariel Johnson had seven valuable points in 14 minutes of action. Julia Rendon led OLLU with 14 points while Alyssa Ward had 13 for the Lady Saints.
Bethel shot 48 percent from the floor connecting on 29-of-60 shots from the field. OLLU hit eight three- pointers while Bethel had five. Free throws kept the Lady Saints in the game as they hit 18-of- 22 attempts. OLLU shot just 35 percent from the floor. Bethel won despite a season high 25 turnovers. OLLU had 18 turnovers in the contest.
Bethel moved to 3-3 on the season while OLLU fell to 3-4.
Bethel Coach Chris Nelson was pleased with the effort and result. "Our start was huge and gave us confidence which we really needed. We were able to get some easy baskets and our defense was really good at times. Although we turned it over too much we embraced the tempo and that proved to be a factor in the game. Dew, Sheets, Pearson and Steppee had productive offensive nights and Mariah (McKenty) was simply great tonight. This is a nice win over one of the top teams in the nation. We need to get some rest and prepare for a talented Great Falls squad."
The Lady Wildcats meet Great Falls Saturday night at Oman Arena at 7 p.m. catch the action on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. Fans can also view the game at www.campbellsvilletiger.com/watch.
