MCKENZIE, Tenn. –The No. 23 Bethel University Lady Wildcats used a strong second half to pull away and beat the visiting Brewton-Parker Lady Barons 76-44 in Crisp Arena Saturday afternoon.
Bethel moved to 19-8 overall and an 11-3 in the SSAC. The Lady Cats are 90 -12 all-time in the arena and 42-1 against league opponents in the building. BPU dropped to 4-19 and 2-13.
It was the eighth between the two programs with Bethel winning all eight games. The Lady Wildcats are 4-0 in Mt. Vernon and 4-0 in McKenzie.
After shooting only 27 percent in the first half and leading by just one point at 27-26 at the break, the Lady Cats shot 48 percent in the second half to upend the Barons. BPU had a 22-13 rebound advantage at the half but Bethel wound up with a 23-9 advantage on the boards in the second half to finish with a 36-31 margin. BPU had only six offensive rebounds in the game. Bethel's bench outscored BPU 23-1 and had a 45-23 margin in points in the paint.
Bethel forced the Barons into 23 turnovers while committing only nine in the game. The Lady Wildcats had an 18-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
Millie Bryant scored all of her 14 points in the last two quarters. Morgan Martin had 13 of her 15 points in the second half. Laurhen Pickett led the Cats with 20 points and 11 rebounds. It was her ninth double-double of the season. Jasmine Whittemore knocked down three of Bethel's eight threes and finished with 13 points. Bri Fields pulled down 11 rebounds and added seven points.
Johnta Hughes led BPU with 14 points. Latoya King added 11 points while Dominique Haynes contributed with 10 tallies. Brewton-Parker dropped to 0-11 in road games on the year.
Coach Chris Nelson was pleased with the tenacity of his squad. "I was proud of our kids fight. It wasn't easy early in the game and we missed some easy looks but we stayed the course with our defense and pulled away in the second half. We like what we see with our chemistry and we continue to be good as we share the ball with different players continuing to step up." He added, "Morgan got back on track tonight and Millie was the difference for us in the second half. She is just a warrior and gives us the spark on both ends. Bri got in and did a great job with tempo and rebounding and Laurhen was simply Laurhen again tonight with another double double. We will enjoy this one this weekend and get back to work next week preparing for our friends from Martin Methodist. It's time to gear up up for tournament time."
Bethel will host Martin Methodist at 2 p.m. Saturday. It will be Senior Day with ceremonies taking place before the game. The 1982 men's basketball team will be honored at halftime of the men's game. The heralded team was inducted into the Bethel University Athletic Hall-of-Fame this past year. The squad is only the third team in Bethel history to be inducted into the Hall.
It will also be "WHITE OUT DAY"…….visit www.bethelathletics.com for how you can purchase your attire for the game.
With their win last year, Martin Methodist is the only SSAC team to beat Bethel 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. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 1:30 p.m.
