CAMPBELLSVILE, KY –The No. 18 Bethel Lady Wildcats could not overcome a barrage of three-pointers by the No. 6 Campbellsville Lady Tigers Monday night in the final game of the SSAC/MSC Challenge held at Campbellsville's Powell Athletic Center falling 76-57. The host team knocked down six three-pointers in the first half and finished with 10 on the night. Bethel had one three at the break and finished with four in the game.
After falling behind 7-0 to open the game the Lady Wildcats found their rhythm and pulled to within to two at 14-12 early in the second quarter. The Lady Tigers outscored Bethel 20-10 the remainder of the quarter however and led at halftime 34-22. Bethel is 0-6 on the season when trailing at the half.
A 15-4 run to open the third quarter put the Lady Tigers up 49-26 and it proved to be too much for the Lady Wildcats to overcome.
Campbellsville shot 50 percent on the night hitting 30-of-60 attempts from the floor. They had 22 assists which was four more than they average per game. The Lady Tigers are sixth in the nation averaging 18 per game. The Lady Cats hit 21-of 58 attempts for 36 percent.
Bethel's Alexis Hardaway led the Lady Cat attack with 14 points. Shamon Pearson had 13 while Jasmine Whittemore had a season high 11 points.
CU's Emily Fox hit six threes and led the Lady Tigers with 21 points. Madison Stewart followed with 12 points while LeeAnn Grider had 11 points for the Lady Tigers.
Coach Chris Nelson shared his thoughts about the loss. "Tonight was a tough game to take. First we give credit to our opponent as they did a great job of playing to their strengths and also did a good job at taking our strengths away. I felt like we played hard when we got down but that is a given and what we are supposed to do. Our defensive transition was poor in the first half and we were in scramble mode and they got loose and hit normal shots they are a custom to making. Meanwhile they did a wonderful job with the scout and didn't allow us to get in a flow and run our plays. We have to be able to figure it out with our motion and movement out of it to create and also finish around the rim. We showed some toughness throughout the whole weekend but needed to see a little more on the defensive side of the ball as we were fighting day three of a challenging weekend. We need more contributions out of a few of our players and it is our job as a staff to figure that out and get them to that point. We will take a little time for the holidays and enjoy our families and many blessings and then regroup for upcoming tough conference play in the New Year. We also want to wish our fans a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We never take them for granted and remain grateful for their support."
Bethel fell to 6-6 on the season while Campbellsville improved to 11-2 with their fourth straight win.
The Lady Wildcats return to action after Christmas with two key SSAC games. They host Coastal Georgia Thursday, December 29 at 5:30 p.m. and Brewton-Parker Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games can be heard on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins thirty minutes prior to tip-off. The games can also be viewed on Wildcat Vision at www.bethelathletics.com. Dave McCulley and Zach O'Kelley will call the action on both.
