MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The hottest team in the SSAC remained just that as the Bethel Lady Wildcats won their ninth in a row with a 77-43 win over the visiting Florida College Falcons in Crisp Arena Monday night. It was Bethel's 100th win in SSAC play at 100-18. Bethel moved to 17-4 overall and 6-1 in the league. The Lady Cats remained unbeaten at home at 11-0 on the season. Bethel is 118-15 all-time in Crisp Arena and 56-4 versus league opponents on the floor.
The Falcons dropped to 9-10 and 2-5. It was the third meeting between the two programs with Bethel leading the series 3-0.
Bethel led at the half 33-22 and outscored Florida College 44-21 in the second half to secure the win. Bethel entered the game 7th best in the nation in scoring defense.
The Lady Wildcats shot 41 percent from the floor while holding FC to just 26 percent. Bethel forced the Falcons into 24 turnovers and had a 24-5 advantage in points off turnovers. The Cats had a 52-15 margin in points in the paint. Bethel had a 32-7 advantage in bench points. The Lady Cats had a 42-29 rebound advantage.
Morgan Martin, Ge'Naisha Robinson and Tyasia Willis each scored 14 points to lead the Wildcats. Willis had 12 rebounds to complete the double-double. She also had five blocks giving her 46 on the season which is fifth in the country. Martin had two three-pointers giving her 231 in her career. She is second only behind former Bethel great Katie Van Dyke who had 241. Martin has 1, 257 career points which is 8th all-time in program history. Tasia Jones had a game high seven assists giving her 120 on the season which is third in the nation.
Coach Chris Nelson is now 304-142 in his Bethel 14-year career as head coach of the Cats.
Nelson commented, "On a night we did not shoot the basketball well, we did a good job of playing complete possessions on the defensive side of the ball. We got a little complacent in the second period but credit Florida College for not going away. It was good for us to be challenged and see how we would respond coming out of half time."
Bethel resumes play Saturday hosting rival Blue Mountain in another SSAC match-up beginning at 2 p.m.
The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 1:30 p.m. on WEIO, 100.9 and, www.thefarmradio.com.
Live video:
http://www.bethelathletics.com/f/WildcatVision.php
Live stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/Websync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
WLJT-TV, Channel 11 will carry the games on a delayed basis. Replays can be seen Saturday night at 10 p.m. and Sunday at 11 p.m.
