MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 17 Bethel Lady Wildcats won their eighth straight Thursday night with 88-76 win over the visiting Middle Georgia State Knights. It was Bethel's 12th victory in their last 13 games.
The Lady Wildcats fell behind 10-0 to open the game but fought back to trail by only two at 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. Bethel outscored MGS 22-13 in the second stanza to grab a 40-33 lead at halftime. The Lady Wildcats are 16-0 when leading at the half. The teams scored 19 points each in the third quarter and the game remained close at 59-52. Bethel was able to withstand several threats by the Knights in the fourth quarter and won by twelve.
Both teams hit their share of three-pointers. MGS connected on ten while Bethel hit eleven on the night. The Knights shot 37 percent hitting 26-of-70 attempts from the floor. Bethel was 26-of-57 at 45 percent. Both squads were both able to get to the free throw line as MGS was 14-of-18 while the Lady Wildcats were 25-of-32 from the charity line. Bethel out rebounded the fourth best rebounding team in the nation 35-31. Bethel had a commanding advantage in points off the bench at 42-14.
Brandi Goodman led Bethel with a career tying high of 25 points. Cayla Sheets had the hot hand in the first half with four three's. She finished with her first career double-double scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She also dished out a game high five assists. Mariah McKenty and Abbey Dew each had 14 points. Shamon Pearson followed with 10 points. Shaketa Hodges led MGS with 25 points.
The Lady Cats are 18 -7 overall and 14 -1 in the league after the win. MGS is 6 -15 and 3-12. Bethel is 75 -9 all-time in the arena and 34-1 against SSAC opponents in Crisp.
Bethel Coach Chris Nelson said," We got off to a slow start but our ladies battled back at the end of the first and had to battle the rest of the way to secure the victory. Brandi and Abbey were great off the bench and our senior point guard Cayla Sheets got hot and hit big shots for us throughout the game. She also collected ten rebounds which shows the heart and passion she plays with. Mariah got in foul trouble early but battled back as well and stepped up with some clutch shots in the second half. Our team knows different players are capable of stepping up on different nights and that has been the case for us the entire season."
The Lady Wildcats host Brenau Saturday at 2 p.m.
The 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. Fans can also view the game on Wildcat Vision at www.bethelathletics.com on the Wildcat Vision link. Dave McCulley and Zach O'Kelley call the action on both entities.
