MCKENZIE, Tenn.-The No. 14 Bethel Lady Wildcats played host to the Florida College Falcons Thursday night in Crisp Arena. It was third of five straight home games for the Lady Cats. Bethel defeated the Lady Falcons for the second time on the season with a 65-46 victory. They won earlier 88-60 in Temple Terrace. Thursday's game was just the second ever between the two programs.
Bethel improved to 20-3 overall and 12 -1 in the SSAC. The win was Bethel's 10th straight. The Lady Cats are 11-1 at home and 9- 1 on the road. They are 1-1 in neutral site games. Bethel is 103-14 all-time in Crisp Arena. They are 47-3 against SSAC foes in the arena. Bethel is 81-15 all-time versus SSAC opponents.
Florida College dropped to 10-13 overall and 2-11 in the league. They have dropped eight games in a row.
The Lady Cats trailed 28-26 at halftime, marking just the fourth time all season Bethel had trailed at the break. The Cats used a 9-0 run to open the third quarter and eventually outscored the visitors from the Sunshine State 25-5 in the quarter to take control.
Both teams struggled with their outside shooting as Bethel hit just four of their 25 attempts from behind the arc. Florida College was 6-of-25 from three-point range. Bethel hit 17-of-21 free throw attempts and had a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint. The Bethel bench was a factor with a 31-10 margin in the game. The Lady Cats had a 22-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
Myah Taylor led Bethel with 13 points. Her one three-pointer gave her a nation leading 94 on the season. She also grabbed eight rebounds in the victory. Bethel had a 44-28 margin on the boards. Morgan Martin had 12 points and nine rebounds. Martin has 970 career points and is 30 away from becoming the 16th Lady Wildcat to score 1,000 points or more in a career at the school. Tasia Jones came of the Bethel bench and sparked the Lady Cats with 12 points and four assists.
Bethel hit four three's giving them a nation leading 226 on the season.
Kristian Davis led the Falcons with 14 points.
Bethel is 18-1 when they lead at halftime. They are 2-2 when trailing at the break. They are 18-2 when they out rebound their opponent. Bethel is 1-1 when losing the battle of the boards. They are 1-0 when tied in rebounding. The Lady Cats are 18-1 when they out shoot their foes. They are 2-2 when outshot. Bethel is 16-0 when they make more free throws in a game. They are 4-3 when the opponent makes more free throws and 14-1 when the opponent has more turnovers per game. Bethel is 13-2 in night games and 7-1 in day affairs. The Lady Wildcats have hit at least one three-pointer in 415 straight games. The team has hit at least one three-pointer in every game Coach Chris Nelson has coached at Bethel. He is 280 -135 and is in his 13th season with the Lady Wildcats.
Coach Nelson said, "Tonight was a good challenge for us. Hats off to Florida College for coming in and competing the way they did. On a night we didn't shoot the ball well we were able to do other things to stabilize our efforts."
The Lady Cats host Brewton-Parker Saturday at 2 p.m. BPU has won five of their last six and is 14-7 overall and 10-3 in the SSAC. Bethel leads the all-time series 9-0. Bethel won at BPU 78-65 earlier this season. The game has been designated the SSAC Game of the Week.
Fans can listen to the action on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 1:30 p.m.
Live video:
http://www.bethelathletics.com/WildcatVision
Live stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
Live audio:
https://www.thefarmradio.com/
