BILLINGS, MT- A tough start to the game and a tough start to the third quarter proved to be too much for The No. 4 seeded Bethel Lady Wildcats to overcome as they fell to No. 5 seeded Lindsey Wilson in the opening game of the 39th annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship in Billings, Montana Wednesday morning. The Lady Blue Raiders beat the Lady Cats 60-49.
Lindsey Wilson jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and led 15-10 at the end of one. Bethel took their first lead at 19-18 on a Millie Bryant three-pointer with 6:10 left in the half. Bryant's lay-up gave Bethel a 23-20 margin at one point but LWC outscored the Cats 9-5 to close out the half and led at the break 30-28.
Lindsey Wilson outscored Bethel 10-2 to open up the second half and Bethel could never close the gap enough. LWC led 48-38 at the end of three. Bethel's Myah Taylor knocked down a three with nine minutes left in the game to pull Bethel to within 48-41 but the Wildcats would not get closer the remainder of the contest.
Bethel hit 19-of -62 shots at 30 percent. They shot 18 percent from behind the arc hitting 5-of-27 attempts. Bethel was 6-of- 7 from the foul line. Lindsey Wilson had a 40-39 rebound advantage. It marked just the fourth time all year Bethel did not win the battle of the boards. The five three's gave Bethel 306 on the year. It is a new program record for a season.
LWC shot 34 percent from the floor at 17-of-50. They were 4-of-9 from behind the three-point arc. The Raiders had a sizable margin in free throws, hitting 22-of-30 attempts. Both teams finished with 11 turnovers each.
Myah Taylor who was named to the WBCA All-America team this week closed out her career at Bethel with 26 points. Junior Morgan Martin had nine points and eight rebounds.
LWC's Reagan Turner, also named to the WBCA All-America team had a game high 27 points. She also had five rebounds and three assists. J'Nayah Hall had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Blue Raiders.
Coach Chris Nelson said, "Today's game is tough to swallow but credit LWC and John for playing a great game. It was a physical and tough grind like we expected. We knew they were a great rebounding team and both teams went to war on the glass. Their ability getting to the free throw line was also a big difference. The slow starts to both halves really set us back. We settled down late in the first period and was able to take the lead in the second quarter. We were able to run our stuff and get looks but needed some scoring in different areas. Their Post defense limited our looks inside and we missed some easy chances the times we attacked the rim. Offensively we just really couldn't get in a good flow. When we came out in the 4th and cut it to 48-41 we had opportunities in transition then the ball went through our hands and we couldn't get the stops we had to have late to finish out the run." He added, "This year has been a great ride and we have enjoyed the journey with this group. We came up short today but it does not take away from things they accomplished and the biggest thing was them becoming a team."
Lindsey Wilson moved to 23-10 and will move on to second round action Friday morning. Bethel closed their season at 28-6.
