NEW ORLEANS, La. – Two of the best teams in the SSAC clashed in New Orleans Saturday as the No. 21 Bethel Lady Wildcats and the (RV) Loyola Lady Wolfpack squared off in a key conference showdown. The home team hung on for a 57-55 victory. Bethel fell to 17-8 overall and 9-3 in the league. Loyola moved to 19-4 and 11-1. LU won their seventh straight while the Lady Cats had their winning streak snapped at three.
The Lady Cats jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led at the end of the first quarter 16-14. Loyola outscored Bethel 18-10 in the second stanza and led 32-26 at the half. Bethel had two more field goals (12-10) than the Pack but Loyola shot nine free throws and connected on eight of the attempts while Bethel did not attempt a free throw in the first half. Bethel had a 23-20 rebound advantage but hit only 2-of-13 three point attempts. Loyola was 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Laurhen Pickett led Bethel with eight points and nine rebounds. Di' Mond Jackson led the Pack with 13 points in the half.
Loyola took a 41-31 lead in the third quarter but Bethel stormed back with 13 unanswered points to grab a 44-41 lead. After the Pack tied the game at 44, Bri Fields hit a shot to give Bethel a 46-44 lead at the end of three.
The fourth quarter was a typical affair between the two league powers. Neither team led by more than three in the final frame. Jasmine Whittemore knocked down a three pointer to give Bethel a 55-54 lead but Loyola scored the last three to win 57-55. After a time-out with four seconds left Bethel had a chance but a last second three by Shamon Pearson failed to go in and allowed LU to escape with the victory.
Bethel shot 32 percent from the floor on a 23-of-71 performance. They were 7-of-27 from three point range. Bethel had a 48-41 rebound advantage. Loyola was 17-of-55 at 31 percent. They hit five three's in the game.
Bethel did not attempt a free throw until there was just over three minutes left in the game. They were 2-of-4 from the line. Loyola shot 22 free throws and hit 18 of their attempts.
Morgan Martin led Bethel with 15 points with 12 of those in the second half. Fields and Jasmine Whittemore each had 10 points. Jackson led LU with a game high 22 points. Zoie Miller added 15 tallies for the Pack.
Coach Chris Nelson shared his thoughts about the game. "This was a tough road loss but I can't express how proud I am of our ladies and how good we were on the road today. We controlled the tempo keeping the game in 50s and got 16 more shot attempts than they did. Turnovers were evenly matched with both teams prizing the possession. The only category we did not win was at the charity stripe." He added, "We looked forward to getting back home for our final three regular season games."
Bethel closes out their regular season with three games at home. They meet Middle Georgia State Thursday in Crisp Arena. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.
The game will be carried on WEIO, 100.9 and available at www.thefarmradio.com. Video will be available on Wildcat Vision at www.bethelathletics.com.
