MONTGOMERY, Ala. –The No. 17 Bethel Lady Wildcats avenged their regular season ending loss to Mobile with a semifinal 56-38 win over the Rams Friday afternoon at the SSAC Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Newk's Eatery in Montgomery. With the victory, the Lady Wildcats move to the conference championship game versus Loyola at 4 p.m. Saturday. Loyola beat Stillman earlier Friday winning 71-59 over the Tigers.
The No. 1 seeded Lady Cats improved to 28-4 on the season while Mobile completed their year at 15-17.
The Wildcats turned in a strong defensive effort, holding Mobile to 26% shooting from the field, winning the rebounding battle 52-28 and limiting the Rams to single-digits in the second and fourth periods.
The teams combined for 45 turnovers and Bethel shot 35% from the floor, 14% from distance and hit 14-of-20 from the charity stripe.
Myah Taylor led the Wildcats with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting and Morgan Martin added nine points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Ty Willis came off the bench and contributed with eight points and 11 rebounds. Jani Crawford also off the bench with seven points and six rebounds. Tasia Jones had six points and six assists. Brandi Goodman was also a part of Bethel's bench advantage with seven tallies. The Lady Cats had a 30-11 advantage in bench points.
Mobile was led by Jordyn York's 11 points, while Kelsey Pinera tallied six.
Coach Chris Nelson was pleased how his team was focused at the task at hand. "We are super pleased with our focus and attitudes right now. We knew Mobile would be prepared and ready but our ladies battled through a sluggish first quarter and took charge in the second quarter. Jani Crawford was a huge part of that. She has stayed the course despite some setbacks and I am really proud of her. We are excited about our meeting against outstanding Loyola squad. Every game with them is a challenge and takes on a life of its own."
It will be Bethel's third appearance in the SSAC title game. Loyola beat the Lady Cats in the finals in 2014-15. The Pack beat Bethel last year in the semifinals. The Lady Wildcats are 6-5 in the championship since joining the league in the 2013-14 season.
Bethel swept the Pack during the regular season with a 78-68 win in McKenzie in January and a five overtime 106-100 marathon victory in New Orleans in February. Loyola is the No. 2 seeded team in the championship. The Pack enters the title game with a four game winning streak. Loyola has won 14 of their last 15 games while Bethel has won 18 of their last 19 outings.
Myah Taylor leads the Lady Cats in scoring at 22.4 points per game. She has made 116 three's on the season which leads the nation. Her 116 total 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 40. 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 292. The Lady Wildcats are No. 1 in rebound margin at 13.1 per game.
Bethel is 26-2 when they lead at halftime. They are 2-2 when trailing at the break. They are 26-3 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 26-1 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 20-2 when the opponent has more turnovers per game. Bethel is 17-2 in night games and 11-2 in day affairs. Bethel 14-2 at home, 11-1 on the road and 3-1 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 88-16 all-time versus SSAC.
The Lady Wildcats have hit at least one three-pointer in 424 straight games. The team has hit at least one three-pointer in every game Coach Chris Nelson has coached at Bethel. He is 288- 16 and is in his 13th season with the Lady Wildcats.
Catch the title game on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show will air at 3: 30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Live video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ssac/
Live stats: http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
