MCKENZIE, Tenn. –The No. 11 Bethel Lady Wildcats stepped out of regular season play Monday night traveling to Murray State for an exhibition against the Racers. The game turned out to be a thriller as Bethel battled back from a 17 point second half deficit to tie the game at 68 all with 3:22 left. Two free throws by Brandi Goodman tied the game. After a three-pointer by MSU, Bethel's Jasmine Whittemore tied the game at 71 with a three-pointer. The Racers outscored the Lady Cats 10-5 in the last two minutes to win 81-76.
Bethel led 23-21 at the end of the first quarter. Morgan Martin scored 13 of her game high 24 points in the quarter.
After a steal and basket by Shamon Pearson Bethel trailed by just three at 34-31 with two minutes remaining in the first half. MSU put together a ten point unanswered run to grab a 43-31 lead at the break. Turnovers proved to be a problem as Bethel had 14 of their 19 turnovers in the half.
Murray State looked as if they were about to win big when they led 50-33 in the third quarter but Bethel fought back in the fourth stanza behind the play of Goodman, Martin, Whittemore along with freshman Justyce White and Millie Bryant. All had big baskets in the comeback. They combined for five three's in the final frame. Goodman had seven of her 18 points in the fourth. Martin had eight rebounds while Goodman pulled down five boards. Bethel out rebounded the Racers 47-32. Both teams had nine three-pointers in the game. MSU's ability to get to the foul line was a difference. They hit 22-of-35 attempts from the charity stripe.
Coach Chris Nelson said, "We are proud of how our ladies fought back. The last two minutes put us on our heels but we battled back. We continue to make progress and look forward to a match-up against Brescia Tuesday night."
The Lady Wildcats return home to host the Brescia Bearcats Tuesday night. It will be Bethel's fourth game in five days. Bethel leads the series 6-0. The Cats won the last meeting between the two with an 82-57 victory in Crisp Arena in November of 2016.
Bethel returns to regular season action with a 5-5 record. Bethel is 5-3 at home on the season and 82-12 all-time in Crisp Arena. The Bearcats come to McKenzie with a 2-3 mark. They are coming off a 62-54 exhibition loss at Cumberlands (KY) Saturday. Brescia is 1-3 on the road this year.
The squads have one common opponent. Bethel beat Fisk 86-62. Brescia lost to Fisk in four overtimes 103-98. The Bearcats play in the River States Conference.
Jasmine Whittemore hit two three-pointers in the MidAmerica game giving her 124 career treys. She tied former Bethel standout Wendi Davis for 11th on the all-time list.
Shamon Pearson's eight points in the MAU game pushed her to 1, 230 career points. She is six away from moving past former Bethel great Teena Carter who had 1, 235 career points.
Bethel averages 67.0 points per game and is 4-0 when they score 70 or more. The Lady Wildcats yield 61.8 points per outing.
Bethel is sixth in the nation with 70 made three's. Laurhen Pickett is fourth in total rebounds with 88. She is sixth in total blocks with 16. Wittemore is 14th in the country with 20 made three-pointers.
Pickett leads the team in scoring averaging 12.4 points per game. Pearson is second averaging 11.7. Morgan Martin continues her recent surge in scoring pushing her average to 9.7 points per outing.
Bethel is 5-1 when they lead at the half. They are 5-1 when they out rebound their opponents. The Lady Cats are 5-0 when they out shoot their foes.
Kelsey Kirkpatrick leads Brescia averaging 11.5 points per game. Catherine Dunn follows averaging 10.2 per outing. The Bearcats average 71.5 points per game and yields 70.0 points per contest.
Coach Chris Nelson is in his 12th season as head coach. He has a career mark of 245-126. He is 17th on the active coaching list in NAIA wins. The Lady Wildcats have hit at least one three-pointer in all of his 371 games.
Mike Gray is in his second season as head coach of the Bearcats. He is 7-28.
The game will be broadcast on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com.
Live video on Wildcat Vision available at: http://www.bethelathletics.com/f/WildcatVision.php
Live stats available at: http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
