MCKENZIE, Tenn. –The Bethel Lady Wildcats concluded a four game home stand with an impressive 73-44 SSAC win over rival Blue Mountain Saturday in Crisp Arena. It was the 10th straight victory for the No. 9 Lady Wildcats who improved to 18-4 overall and 7-1 in the league. The match-up was the SSAC Women's Basketball Game of the Week.
BMC fell to 2-6 in conference action and 6-10 overall.
Behind seven points by Millie Bryant the Lady Wildcats grabbed a 20-8 lead at the end of the first stanza. The Lady Cats outscored the Toppers 20-8 in the second quarter at led at halftime 40-16. Bryant led all scorers with nine points while Tyasia Willis and Jani Crawford each had eight points at the break. After a 17-9 run in the third quarter, Bethel led 57-25 after three.
The Wildcats hit seven three-pointers and had a 49-36 advantage in rebounds. The Cats had a 32-19 margin in bench points. Points in the paint was a huge factor as Bethel had a 38-18 advantage. The Wildcats forced BMC into 20 turnovers.
Willis led Bethel with 15 while Crawford finished with 13 points in the game. Willis completed the double- double with 11 rebounds. It was her sixth double-double of the season. Morgan Martin hit two three-pointer giving her 233 which is second in program history. Former Bethel great Katie Van Dyke had 241. Martin has 1, 264 career points which is 9th all-time in program history.
Emilee Murr led the Toppers with 14 points.
Bethel has won 14 in a row in the series and holds a commanding advantage at 27-1. It was the 13th meeting in McKenzie with the Lady Cats winning each.
The Lady Cats remain unbeaten at home at 12-0 on the season. Bethel is 119-15 all-time in Crisp Arena and 57-4 versus league opponents on the floor.
Coach Chris Nelson who celebrated a birthday with the win said, "Today was a good way to end our recent home stand. We were able to play a lot of our bench and really work on our depth. Our big focus is staying locked in and focusing on the big picture."
With Loyola's earlier in the day at William Carey the Cats and Pack remained tied at the top of the SSAC standings at 7-1.
The Lady Cats return to action Thursday traveling to Faulkner with tip-off in Montgomery at 5:30 p.m.
Live stats:
http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Team/TeamSchedule.aspx?association=10&sg=WBB&sea=NAIWBB_2018&team=17651
Live video:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvBs0okgtedJxrooFJKsumw
