MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 15 Bethel Lady Wildcats beat Middle Georgia State in the quarterfinals of the SSAC Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Newk's Eatery in Montgomery Thursday. Bethel beat the Knights 97-72. The No. 1 seeded Lady Wildcats moved to 27-4 on the season. MGS saw their season end at 11-18.
Bethel won the regular season conference title with an 18-2 mark. The title gave the Wildcats an automatic berth in the NAIA Women's National Championships in Billings, Montana in March. Bethel is 86- 16 all-time against SSAC foes.
With the victory at the Multiplex at the Cramton Bowl in downtown Montgomery, Bethel moved to the semi-finals set for Friday at 5 p.m. They face Mobile who beat Middle Georgia 68-59. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.
Bethel scooted out to a 12-0 lead before MGS scored four minutes into the game. The Wildcats led 21-9 at the end of the first quarter. They upped their margin to 45-24 at the half. Bethel had a 51-31 lead in the third before Middle Georgia ripped off 15 unanswered points to cut Bethel's lead to 51-46. Bethel's Morgan Martin hit a huge three-pointer which was followed by two free throws by Myah Taylor and the Wildcats had a double digit lead again and that propelled them to a 70-54 lead after three. Bethel outscored the Knights 27-18 in the final frame to win by 25.
Bethel shot 38 percent from the floor hitting 24-of-63 shots. They knocked down 12 three-pointers and hit 37-of-44 free throws at 84 percent. MGS hit five three's and were 19-of-33 free throws.
Bethel had a 48-39 advantage in rebounding and had a huge margin in bench points at 44-11.
Myah Taylor led Bethel in scoring with 26 points. Brandi Goodman and Martin finished with 13 each. Millie Bryant pitched in with 11 tallies. Bryant had a team high eight rebounds. Kianna Delas led the Knights with 18 points.
Coach Chris Nelson said he was pleased with his team's mins set. "I was a little nervous today but when we arrived at the arena I could tell our ladies were focused and ready to go. They played a great first half and everyone contributed. This team has great chemistry and even when Middle made their run we stayed composed and focused. I thought our passing was a huge key and so many people stepped up and played well off the bench, especially Jani Crawford and Brandi Goodman. This was a good step toward our goal down here. We will get some rest after we support our men's team and get ready for tomorrow."
Thursday, February 28
#6 Stillman beat # 3 Martin Methodist 68-62
#2 Loyola beat Florida College 74-61
#1 Bethel beat Middle Georgia State 97-72
#5 Mobile beat # Middle Georgia 68-59
Friday, March 1
Game 7 | 1:00 p.m. Stillman v. Loyola
Game 8 | 5:00 p.m. Bethel v Mobile
Saturday, March 2
Championship Game | 4:00 p.m. | Winner of Game 7 v. Winner of Game 8
Cat Scratches
Myah Taylor leads the Lady Cats in scoring at 22.6 points per game. She has made 115 three's on the season which leads the nation. Her 115total is the most ever in a single season for a Lady Cat. Tyasia Willis follows averaging 10.8 per outing. Willis also leads the team in blocks with 39. Morgan Martin pops in 10.8 points per game. She leads the squad in rebounding grabbing 8.1 per contest. Martin recently became the 16th player in Lady Wildcat history to score 1,000 points or more in a career at Bethel.
Bethel leads the nation in made three's with 289. The Lady Wildcats are No. 1 in rebound margin at 13.1 per game. Bethel is 10th in scoring per game at 79.0 points per contest. They are 12th in scoring margin yielding just 61.1 points per game. The Cats are No. 8 in total rebounds averaging 44.8 per game.
Bethel is 25-2 when they lead at halftime. They are 2-2 when trailing at the break. They are 25-3 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 25-1 when they out shoot their foes. They are 2-3 when outshot. Bethel is 22-0 when they make more free throws in a game. They are 4-4 when the opponent makes more free throws and 19-2 when the opponent has more turnovers per game. Bethel is 17-2 in night games and 10-2 in day affairs. Bethel was 14-2 at home, 11-1 on the road and 2-1 in neutral site games this season. Bethel's longest winning streak on the year was 16. Their longest losing streak was one. Bethel finished the regular season 105-15 all-time in Crisp Arena. They are 50-4 all-time versus SSAC foes in the building. They are 87-16 all-time versus SSAC.
The Lady Wildcats have hit at least one three-pointer in 423 straight games. The team has hit at least one three-pointer in every game Coach Chris Nelson has coached at Bethel. He is 287- 16 and is in his 13th season with the Lady Wildcats.
Catch Bethel's games on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show will air at 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Live video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ssac/
Live stats: http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
