MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Bethel Lady Wildcats pushed Middle Tennessee State to the limit Sunday in the Murphy Center before falling 64-53 to the Blue Raiders in an exhibition affair.
The Lady Cats trailed 21- 16 at the end of the first quarter. They dropped behind 38-27 at the half. Bethel scored 11 unanswered to begin the third quarter and took the lead on a Morgan Martin three-pointer to lead by one at 39-38. MTSU answered with an 11-point run of their own and led eventually 52-43 at the end of the quarter. Bethel would keep the deficit to single digits most of the fourth stanza but the Blue Raiders would win 64-53.
Bethel shot 35 percent from the field hitting 18-of-54 from the field. They hit six three's and were 11-of-13 from the foul line. MTSU shot 32 percent connecting on 22-of-67 from the floor. They hit eight three-pointers but were just 13-of-24 from the free throw line. The Raiders had a 49-39 rebound margin.
Tasia Jones led Bethel with 11 points. Jani Crawford had seven points. Tyasia Willis had six points and eight rebounds. Mickey Head had six points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Anastasia Hayes and Aislynn Hayes led Middle with 14 points each.
Coach Chris Nelson stated, "Today was a great opportunity for our team to see where we are and what we need to work on. It was a great experience that we are thankful for but we have to build on it and get better. We have great chemistry but it is very early and we have to focus on our execution on both ends of the floor."
Bethel plays their final exhibition before the regular season traveling to UTM Wednesday for a match-up versus the SkyHawks at 6 p.m.
The game will be carried on WEIO, 100.9 and at: www.thefarmradio.com
The Countdown to tip-off show begins at 5:30 p.m.
Live stats:
http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=tenm
After the two exhibitions games the Lady Wildcats open their 2019-20 basketball season with two games this weekend in the Annual Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Classic. The field includes No. 16 Bethel, No. 2 Campbellsville, Dillard and Brescia.
The Match-Ups:
The Lady Cats meet Brescia Friday night in Crisp Arena at 8 p.m. Campbellsville will meet Dillard at 6 p.m.
The Lady Cats will then meet Saturday at 4 p.m. Campbellsville will face Brescia at 2 p.m.
