MCKENZIE, Tenn. –The No. 23 Bethel Lady Wildcats returned home for the first of their final three regular season games of the year hosting Middle Georgia State on Thursday night. The game was billed as the SSAC Game of the Week and it lived up to the billing.
Bethel rebounded from their road loss at Loyola Saturday and moved to 18-8 overall and 10-3 in the SSAC with a heart stopping 79-75 victory over the Knights. Bethel moved to 12-3 at home on the year and 89-12 all-time in Crisp Arena. They are 41-1 against SSAC opponents in the building.
MGS fell to 7-18 and 4-11. The Knights have struggled on the road at 1-10 on the season.
It was the sixth meeting between the two programs. Bethel leads the series 6-0. They are 2-0 in McKenzie and have a 4-0 advantage in Cochran. Bethel beat Middle Georgia 53-47 in Cochran on January 18.
After Bethel took a 21-11 lead in the first quarter the Knights used a 22-2 run to take a 33-23 lead in the second stanza. The Lady Cats staged a comeback but still trailed at the half 37-33.
Bethel played catch-up much of the second half and actually trailed 63-55 with eight minutes left in the game. Brandi Goodman's three gave the Lady Cats a 72-70 lead with 1:22 left. After MGS took a 73-72 lead Goodman hit Shamon Pearson on a back door cut. Pearson hit the shot and was fouled. Her free throw with 49 seconds left gave Bethel a 75- 73 lead. Free throws by Millie Bryant and Jasmine Whittemore sealed the deal and allowed Bethel to escape the upset bid of the Knights.
Goodman finished with a double-double with a career high 22 points and 12 rebounds. Laurhen Pickett finished with a season high 23 points and nine rebounds. Whittemore knocked down three three-pointers and finished with 15 points.
Dexshalyn Polite had a game high 29 points for Middle Georgia. Kianna Delas followed with 22 points.
Bethel had a 49-24 advantage in points in the paint. The Bethel bench proved to be a big factor with a 28-2 margin. The Lady Cats had 22 assists with Bryant leading her squad with five dimes. Both squads had 33 rebounds.
Coach Chris Nelson said, "Tonight was a wild night but credit Middle Georgia for coming in here and playing a great basketball game. We knew they could rebound it but they really played well on the offensive end. On a night where some of our players struggled from the outside our post were great and stepped up big. MGS simply would not go away but I love the fight in our team and our ability to fight through adversity when the game was hard. We talk about team all the time and tonight we asked our bench to step up. This time of year all games are hard but our spirits remained high and we found a way in the end. Our crowd was great and big for us in the fourth quarter."
The Lady Cats host Brewton-Parker Saturday at 1 p.m. in Crisp Arena.
Fans can catch the game on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. Live video will be available with Wildcat Vision at www.bethelathletics.com.
