MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 13 Bethel Lady Wildcats won their 16th straight game Thursday night with a 52-48 win over the visiting Stillman Lady Tigers. Bethel moved to 26-3 overall and 18-1 in the SSAC. The Lady Cats have won 18 of their last 19 games. Stillman dropped to 14-13 and 9-10.
Bethel is 106-14 all-time in Crisp Arena. They are 50 -3 versus SSAC opponents in the building. Bethel is 86- 15 all-time against SSAC foes.
It was only the second meeting ever between the two programs with Bethel winning earlier this season in Tuscaloosa 78-73.
Both teams struggled from the field as Bethel was 16-of-44 from the floor at 36 percent while Stillman was 16-of- 55 at 29 percent. Stillman hit four three's on 20 attempts. Bethel was 8-of-29 from downtown at 27 percent. Both teams hit 12 free throws. Stillman attempted 18 while Bethel had 19 tries from the charity stripe. Bethel had a slight advantage in rebounding at 38-35.
Bethel had a season high 23 turnovers while Stillman had 15 on the night.
The game came down to big plays at the end. With the game tied at 48, Bethel's Tyasia Willis banked in a running layup to give Bethel a two point advantage with 12.5 seconds left. Stillman's Michaia Fluellen missed two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining. Bethel's Myah Taylor was fouled and hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to secure the Bethel victory.
Bethel was led in scoring by Taylor who punched in a game high 20 points. She had left the game with 5:14 left in the third after falling and suffering an injury. She was able to return in the fourth. She had seven of her 20 points in the final quarter. Tyasia Willis followed with 10 points and eight rebounds. Millie Bryant was a huge key with nine tallies, five assists and three steals. Morgan Martin had six points, eight rebounds and three dimes.
O'Nesha Hunt led the Tigers with 12 points.
Taylor leads the Lady Cats in scoring at 23.0 points per game. She has made 112 three's on the season which leads the nation. Her 112 total is the most ever in a single season for a Lady Cat. Willis follows averaging 11.0 per outing. Willis also leads the team in blocks with 34. Martin pops in 10.9 points per game. She leads the squad in rebounding grabbing 8.2 per contest.
Bethel leads the nation in made three's with 268. The Lady Wildcats are No. 1 in rebound margin at 13.7 per game. Bethel is 10th in scoring per game at 79.0 points per contest. They are 9th in scoring margin yielding just 61.7 points per game. The Cats are No. 8 in total rebounds averaging 44.8 per game.
Bethel is 24-1 when they lead at halftime. They are 2-2 when trailing at the break. They are 24 -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 24 -1 when they out shoot their foes. They are 2-2 when outshot. Bethel is 21-0 when they make more free throws in a game. They are 4-3 when the opponent makes more free throws and 19-1 when the opponent has more turnovers per game. Bethel is 16-2 in night games and 10-1 in day affairs. The Lady Wildcats have hit at least one three-pointer in 421 straight games. The team has hit at least one three-pointer in every game Coach Chris Nelson has coached at Bethel. He is 286- 135 and is in his 13th season with the Lady Wildcats.
Coach Nelson said, "Tonight was a tough one but we will take an ugly win any night over a pretty loss.
Stillman had a great game plan and was ready to play. We never really got into a flow offensively and we struggled the majority of the evening. This time of year all wins are hard to come by and we are happy we found a way late to pull this one out."
Bethel closes out the regular season Saturday hosting the Mobile Rams at 2 p.m. It will be Senior Day with ceremonies taking place just before tip-off.
After losing at Blue Mountain Thursday Mobile is 12-17 overall and 10-9 in the league. Bethel defeated the Rams 69-61 earlier in the season in Mobile and leads the series 9-4. The Lady Wildcats have beaten the Rams four straight times.
Media coverage of the game available at:
Live video http://www.bethelathletics.com/WildcatVision
Live audio https://www.thefarmradio.com/
Live stats http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
WLJT-TV Coverage
Airdates: Sat., Feb. 23 at 10:00 p.m. / Sun., Feb. 24 at 11:00 p.m.
