MCKENZIE, Tenn. –The Bethel Lady Wildcats extended their winning streak to five in a row with a hard fought 65-59 win over visiting William Carey Monday night in Crisp Arena. No. 17 Bethel ran their overall record to 15-7 and moved to 11-1 in the SSAC. WCU fell to 4-12 and 2-9. It was the Lady Crusaders third straight loss. They have dropped 11 of their last 12 games. Bethel is 74-9 in the building and 33-1 against SSAC opponents. Bethel is 8-0 in the series between the two programs.
The two teams battled to a first half tie at 32 with neither leading by more than six in the first two quarters. In the third quarter the Lady Wildcats opened with an eight point unanswered run and appeared to have the Crusaders on their heels. Bethel extended the lead to as much as 14 leading 52-38. A 20-6 run looked like the cushion Bethel needed to put the game away. Bethel led 54-41 at the end of the third quarter. WCU stormed back in the final stanza and cut the Bethel lead to three at 54-51 with 5:16 left. Bethel behind a big surge by Brandi Goodman was able to hang on however and win by six.
The Wildcats shot 36 percent from the field hitting 21-of-57 shots. They connected on nine three-pointers and knocked down 14-of-19 free throws. WCU hit 22-of 59 shots for 37 percent. They hit six three's and were 9-of-15 free throws. Bethel had a 36-26 rebound advantage.
Goodman led Bethel with 15 points, 13 of those coming in the second half. Shamon Pearson followed with 13 points. Cayla Sheets hit three three-pointers and finished with 10 points. Bethel is 12-2 on the season when three or more score in double figures. Jada Jones led the Lady Crusaders with 15 points. Teshia Jones had 14 while Caroline Lumpkin finished with 13 points.
Coach Chris Nelson said, "Give Coach Tracy English and his team credit tonight. I thought they played well enough to win and forced us to struggle. When we would play our two post together they would go with quickness and when we played our guard line -up they would take it to the post. We continue to go through scoring droughts and at times we are missing clean shots or not finishing around the rim. We built a good lead going into the fourth but William Carey would not go away. Morgan (Martin) got us off to a good start tonight in the third and Brandi hit some key buckets for us down the stretch. Cayla and Jas (Whittemore) played good minutes for us while Mariah (McKenty) did another stellar job on the other teams' best scorer."
The Lady Wildcats hit the road for two straight road games. They travel to Coastal Georgia Thursday and meet Brewton-Parker in Mt. Vernon, Georgia Saturday.
It was William Carey Relief Fund Night as fans in attendance were given the opportunity to make donations to the William Carey which was struck by a tornado earlier in the month.
Donations of financial assistance for students can also be made online. Designate gift: Student Tornado Relief. www.wmcarey.edu/advancement
Please continue to pray for William Carey and Hattiesburg.
