PHOENIX, AZ– The No. 15 Bethel Lady Wildcats returned to action Wednesday in the Frontier Classic in Phoenix, Arizona. The Lady Cats beat the University of Providence 83-72 to move to 10-4 while Providence dropped to 6-4.
After trailing 17-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Cats outscored Providence 26-7 in the second and led at halftime 38-24. Bethel would lead by as many as 23 with six minutes left in the game and went on to win by eleven.
Bethel shot 48 percent from the floor and hit 12 three-pointers. Providence shot 44 percent and hit 10 three's.
Tyasia Willis led Bethel with 20 points, five rebounds, four steals and four blocks. She has 28 blocks on the year. Jani Crawford came off the Bethel bench with 13 points. Tasia Jones had 12 points and a game high nine assists. She has 84 dimes on the season. Ashton Hulme contributed with 11 points. The Bethel bench had a 29-14 margin in the game. Mickey Head scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds. Parker Esary led Providence with a game high 25 points.
Coach Chris Nelson was pleased with the grit of his team. "Today was a great team win. We got into some foul trouble early and our benched stepped up and answered the bell in the second quarter. Providence is a real physical and talented ball club and our girls adjusted well after the start."
Bethel meets No. 11 Montana State University -Northern Thursday at 3 p.m. CST. MSUN is 10-0 after beating Northern New Mexico 50-40 Thursday. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Follow the Cats in Phoenix at the following links:
Montana State-Northern:
Live stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Team/TeamSchedule.aspx?association=10&sg=WBB&sea=NAIWBB_2019&conference=NAIWBB1_FC&team=241
Live video:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ollusaints/
