MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 17 Bethel Lady Wildcats return home after a two game road trip to face Middle Georgia State Thursday night in Crisp Arena with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Match-up: The Lady Cats are 17 -7 overall and 13-1 in the league. MGS is 6 -14 and 3-11. Bethel is 8-3 at home on the season. They are 74 -9 all-time in the arena and 33-1 against SSAC opponents in Crisp. Middle Georgia is 2-7 on the road this year. Bethel has won seven in a row and eleven of their last twelve games. The Lady Cats beat the Knights 55-37 earlier in the season in Cochran.
Coaches: Chris Nelson is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Lady Wildcats. With a 233-117 career mark he is the all-time wins leader with the women's program at the school. Anderson Ligon is in his 12th season at MGS and is 163-131 at the school.
Last Game: The Lady Wildcats trailed 16-15 at the end of the first quarter at Brewton-Parker Saturday afternoon but used a 13-2 run early in the second to grab a 28-18 lead. Despite BPC hitting a late three to end the half it would be a lead the Lady Cats would not relinquish the remainder of the day. Bethel led 35-32 at the break and then outscored the home team 23-9 in the third, 20- 12 in the fourth and go on to win 78-53. Bethel is 11-0 when scoring 70 or more points in a game.
Bethel shot 44 percent from the field hitting 27-of-61 shots. They knocked down 19-of -20 free throw attempts for 95 percent. The Lady Barons shot 29 percent hitting 16-of-54 attempts. Like Bethel the Lady Barons were brilliant from the free throw line connecting on 18-of-20 attempts. The Lady Wildcats dominated the glass out rebounding BPC 49-26.
Shamon Pearson led Bethel with 17 points. Abbey Dew had 13 while Morgan Martin and Brandi Goodman scored 12 points each. Kendricka Glover led Brewton-Parker with 17 tallies. Pearson's 17 points put over the 1,000 career point total. She became the 15th member of the Lady Wildcats 1,000 Point Club.
Middle Georgia is coming off a 70-59 loss to Loyola.
SERIES: It will be the fourth meeting in the series with Bethel holding a 3-0 advantage. All three previous games have been played in Cochran, Georgia.
On the Air: The game will be aired on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 5 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.
