MARTIN, Tenn. – After pushing Middle Tennessee State to the limit Sunday in the Murphy Center the Lady Wildcats traveled to Tennessee-Martin Wednesday night for their final exhibition before the regular season which begins Friday. UTM pulled away in the second half and defeated Bethel 94-68.
Bethel trailed 51-46 at the half and appeared to be in good shape only down by five but a 28-15 advantage by the Hawks in the third quarter put the chance for an upset out of range for the Lady Cats.
With the season opener Friday, Coach Chris Nelson elected to play reserves much of the fourth quarter while resting the legs of the starters. Foul trouble also hampered Bethel as they had six players with three or more fouls in the game.
Both teams shot well from deep with Bethel connecting on 10 three's while UTM finished with 11 treys. UTM shot 44 percent from the floor while the Lady Wildcats shot 36 percent from the field. UTM had a 43-36 rebound advantage. The Wildcats committed 21 turnovers while the SkyHawks had 13.
Morgan Martin led Bethel with 19 points while Millie Bryant, Ashton Hulme and Jani Crawford each finished with eight points. Tyasia Willis led Bethel with nine rebounds. Chelsey Perry led UTM with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Coach Nelson commented, "I thought we competed well for the most part. They did a good job mixing up their defense and I thought their bench was a big factor. It was good to see Morgan have a great shooting night. We hung in there and this was an excellent experience for us. We are thankful for the opportunity to play UTM. They are well coached and we wish them the best in the OVC."
After the two exhibitions games the Lady Wildcats open their 2019-20 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 Dillard Saturday at 4 p.m. Campbellsville will face Brescia at 2 p.m.
Bethel's game Friday against Brescia can be heard on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 7:30 p.m. Both games Friday can also be viewed on Wildcat Vision at www.bethelatheltics.com.
Live stats will be available for all games at: http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
