MCKENZIE, Tenn. –Two longtime rivals met Saturday in Crisp Arena when the No. 23 Bethel Lady Wildcats played host to the (RV) Lady RedHawks of Martin Methodist in the regular season finale for both squads. It was Senior Day for Bethel with ceremonies honoring Jasmine Whittemore and Shamon Pearson along with manager Kevin Beck taking place before the game.
The Lady Cats could never find their shooting eye and fell to the Hawks 53-47. With the victory Martin Methodist won their first ever SSAC regular season title.
Bethel dropped to 19-9 overall and 11-4 in the SSAC. Martin Methodist improved to 24-6 and 14-2.
It was the 28th meeting between the programs. Bethel leads the series 19-9. Bethel is 10-3 in McKenzie and 6-5 in Pulaski through the years. The teams have met four times in neutral site games and Bethel has a 3-1 advantage in those contests.
The game marked the fifth straight game between the two that has been decided by six points or less.
It marked only the second conference loss ever in the building by Bethel. The Hawks beat the Lady Wildcats last year 64-62 on a last second shot. Bethel is 92-13 overall in the building and 42-2 against league opponents in Crisp.
Bethel shot just 27 percent in the game going 18-of-65 from the field. They hit only 4-of-22 from three point land. MMC was 19-of-59 from the floor at 32 percent. They knocked down six three's with four of those coming in the second half.
Shamon Pearson was the only Lady Cat in double figures with 10 points. Jemia Carpenter led MMC with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Brooklyn Blanchard was solid with 14 tallies.
Coach Chris Nelson talked about the loss. "Obviously we are disappointed in our efforts and the outcome but hats off to MMC for handling business and coming in our house and playing well today. It was a game where we did not play with a ton of energy nor did we give our crowd a chance to be excited. With our schedule we should be used to playing uncomfortably and fighting through scoring struggles. It is no secret we both take each other's strengths away but I didn't think we had players step up today willing to make plays when the game got hard." He added, "We tried to score from every angle with Laurhen to begin the game. We went to Steppee at times and then to Brandi late but just could not get it done. We called plays for our guards to get good looks but then we passed on open shots. We did miss some easy looks and some free throws but we should be trained to fight through adversity especially at home. It was senior night and we were playing against our rival and just didn't get it done and that is disappointing. We have a tough challenge with our matchups at the SSAC tournament but we are up for the challenge and excited about this time of the year and so much to play for.
Both teams move on to the SSAC Championships beginning Wednesday at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The winner of the tourney will claim the league's automatic bid to the 2018 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship.
The Schedule
First Round | February 28 | Multiplex at Cramton Bowl | Montgomery, Ala.
Game 1 | 12:00 p.m. No. 8 Middle Georgia (7-20, 3-13) v. No. 9 Brewton-Parker (4-20, 2-14)
Quarterfinals | March 1 | Multiplex at Cramton Bowl | Montgomery, Ala.
Game 2 | 9:00 a.m. No. 3 Bethel (19-9, 11-4) v. No. 6 Mobile (14-14, 7-9)
Game 3 | 12:30 p.m. No. 2 Loyola (22-5, 13-2) v. No. 7 Blue Mountain (3-19, 3-13)
Game 4 | 4:30 p.m. No. 1 Martin Methodist (24-6, 14-2) v. No. 8/9
Game 5 | 8:00 p.m. No. 4 Faulkner (24-5, 11-5) v. No. 5 William Carey (8-14, 7-9)
Semifinals | March 2 | Multiplex at Cramton Bowl | Montgomery, Ala.
Game 6 | 1:00 p.m. No. 3/6 v. No. 2/7
Game 7 | 5:00 p.m. No. 1/8/9 v. No. 4/5
Finals | March 3 | Multiplex at Cramton Bowl | Montgomery, Ala.
Game 8 |4: p.m.
Catch the Lady Cats on the air on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. Thursday's Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 8:30 a.m.
