Jackson, Tenn. –For those in attendance at the 2016 Rotary Classic at Oman Arena in Jackson Saturday many would tell you the Great Falls Lady Argos should be ranked well than No. 18 in the nation. Among those may very well be Bethel Coach Chris Nelson. The Argos beat his No. 10 ranked squad on the final night of the classic 55-51.
Using their size was a factor in the game for GFU but it was also the guard play of Darah Huertas-Vining and Stephanie McDonagh which also played big roles in the victory. McDonagh scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Huertas-Vining was in double figures with 11 points. Bethel's Shamon Pearson led all scorers with 19 points.
Great Falls used a 10-point unanswered to erase a Bethel 30-27 lead in the third quarter and Bethel could never catch the squad from Montana after that. Great Falls had a 30-19 advantage in points in the paint. They also enjoyed a 20-9 margin in points off turnovers.
Bethel hit seven three-pointers to four by GFU but shot just 29 percent overall from the field. Great Falls shot 38 percent hitting 22-of- 57 attempts from the floor. The Lady Argos had a 35-32 advantage in rebounds.
Both teams had strong defensive efforts. Bethel committed 17 turnovers while GFU had 16 mistakes in the contest.
Coach Nelson commented, "Great Falls is a great basketball team. We were good in this classic but when you play these teams you have to better than just good. We made too many mistakes and against teams like we saw in this classic you cannot get away with that. We are not in rhythm offensively right now but it is a process and we feel we are getting there." He added, "We have two key and tough conference games coming up and we need to get back to work and get ready."
Bethel travels to William Carey Thursday for a 5:30 tip-off. They play Blue Mountain Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bethel-BMC game will be aired on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 1:30 p.m.
