MCKENZIE, Tenn.-The No. 14 Bethel Lady Wildcats won their 12th straight with a 75-55 victory over Blue Mountain Monday night in Crisp Arena. Bethel moved to 22-3 overall and 14-1 in the SSAC. The Lady Toppers dropped to 3-18 and 2-13.
Bethel leads the series 26-1 over the Toppers. The Cats have won 13 straight in the series.
Myah Taylor led Bethel with 22 points. She hit four three's in the game giving her a nation leading 98 on the season. She also grabbed six rebounds in the victory. Bethel had a 39-28 margin on the boards. Tyasia Willis pumped in 14 points. Brandi Goodman followed with 10 points. Willis and Goodman were part of Bethel's 36-5 margin in points off the bench. Bethel also had a 40-24 advantage in points in the paint.
The Cats shot 48 percent from the field hitting 29-of-60 shots. BMC shot just 30 percent hitting 16-of-52 attempts from the floor. Bethel hit nine three's giving them a nation leading 337 on the year. The Lady Wildcats have hit at least one three-pointer in 417 straight games. The team has hit at least one three-pointer in every game Coach Chris Nelson has coached at Bethel. He is 282 -135 and is in his 13th season with the Lady Wildcats.
Blue Mountain hit 19-of- 22 free throw attempts. They lead the nation in free throw shooting percentage at 80 percent.
The Lady Cats are 13-1 at home and 9- 1 on the road. They are 1-1 in neutral site games. Bethel is 105-14 all-time in Crisp Arena. They are 49-3 against SSAC foes in the arena. Bethel is 83-15 all-time versus SSAC opponents.
Coach Nelson commented on the win. "We got off to a good start leading by ten at the end of the first quarter. It was not a fluid game however as we probably substituted too much as we tried to give everyone a good balance of minutes. Give credit to Blue Mountain as they always play hard and they had a good start to the third quarter to challenge us. We kept our composure and with the help of the bench pulled away and took control. Our post play was also a big factor as we had a nice margin of 16 points there."
The Lady Cats return to action Saturday traveling to meet rival Martin Methodist in Pulaski. The RedHawks are the only team to beat Bethel in league play this season beating the Lady Cats 77-75 in Crisp Arena on December 15. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
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.
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