MOBILE, Ala. –The Bethel Lady Wildcats lost for the second straight time losing to Mobile 69-60 in Mobile Monday night. The loss came on the heels of a 56-53 loss at Loyola Saturday in New Orleans. Bethel dropped to 20-9 overall and 16-3 in the SSAC. UM improved to 17-10 and 11-7.
Bethel trailed 10-0 but fought back and pulled to within 17-11 at the end of the first quarter. Mobile outscored the Lady Cats 18-14 in the second quarter to lead at the half 35-25. The Lady Rams would never relinquish the lead and go on to win by nine. Bethel came as close as 52-50 late but several buckets by UM allowed them to hold on.
Bethel shot 39 percent (21-53) from the floor and hit six three's. They were 12-of-16 from the free-throw line and had a 38-30 margin in rebounding. The Lady Rams shot 44 percent (24-54) from the floor. They hit six three's and were 15-of-22 from the foul line.
Bethel committed 17 turnovers leading to a 15-9 advantage for UM on points off turnovers.
Brandi Goodman led Bethel with 18 points and seven rebounds. Abbey Dew had 13 points while Morgan Martin finished with 11 points. It marked just the third time all season Bethel has placed three or more players in double figures and lost. Kali Koenig led UM with 27 points.
Coach Chris Nelson stated, "Give Mobile a lot of credit but this is a disappointing loss. We had too many turnovers and at times forced up some bad shots. It's frustrating we go into scoring droughts at times. We must find a way to put the ball in the hoop consistently."
The Lady Cats return home for the regular season finale hosting Faulkner Thursday night in Crisp Arena. It will be Senior Night with ceremonies taking place before the game at 5:10 p.m. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Bethel is 76-9 all-time in the arena. They are 35-1 against SSAC opponents in Crisp. Bethel has won 50-of their last 55 games against SSAC foes.
Fans can catch the action on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The game will be streamed live on Wildcat Vision at http://www.bethelathletics.com/f/WildcatVision.php Dave McCulley and Zach O'Kelley will call the action.
