MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 16 Bethel Lady Wildcats played host to the No. 1 Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions Thursday night in Crisp Arena and the 72nd meeting between the two programs will always be a memorable one for Wildcat fans.
Trailing 34-19 early in the third quarter, the Lady Cats hung tough and stayed within striking distance. Bethel still trailed by double digits at 48-37 at the end of the quarter but the stage was set for one of the best comebacks in Lady Wildcat history. A remarkable fourth quarter saw the Cats outscore FHU 15 -2 and win 52-50.
Tasia Jones hit an eight-foot jumper in the paint to give Bethel the 52-50 lead with 1.6 seconds left. After several time outs, FHU's desperation shot fell off the rim setting the huge Bethel crowd into a frenzy.
Bethel was 21-of-54 from the field at 38 percent. They hit only three three-pointers on 18 attempts but outrebounded the Lions 33 -27. FHU was 20-of-50 from the floor at 40 percent. They connected on seven three-pointers.
Jones led Bethel with 19 points. Tyasia Willis finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. Her bucket on an assist by Jones had tied the game at 50 all with 3:35 left. Chynia Brooks led FHU with 21 points. Haylee Croom had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Coach Chris Nelson expressed how proud he was of his team. "Tonight was a special night. The atmosphere was great for any basketball fan. FHU has some great players and they force you to grind it out on offense. We settled in late in the third period and played with some fight on the defensive end and on the glass. We battled to get back in the game and I thought our kids really fed off the crowd's energy." Nelson added, "I'm personally proud of our ladies for grinding it out and finding a way to win a big game like this. It was fun to be a part of this type game."
Bethel improved to 5-1 while FHU fell to 1-1.
Bethel is 110- 15 all-time in Crisp Arena.
Bethel has a week off as they travel to conference arch-rival No. 24 Loyola Thursday with tip-off in New Orleans at 5:30 p.m.
Live video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/loyno/portal.htm?eventId=553353&streamTy
Live stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/WebcastPlayByPlay/WebcastPBP.aspx?association=10&sg=WBB&compID=231370&sea=NAIWBB_2019
