MCKENZIE, Tenn. –The No. 14 Bethel University Lady Wildcats returned to the court Saturday afternoon playing host to the Lady Bearcats of Brescia University. Bethel used balanced scoring and defense to beat the visitors from the Commonwealth, 78-48. The Lady Wildcats moved to 2-0 on the season while the Bearcats dropped to 0-2. Bethel is 121 -15 all-time in the building.
It was the 11th meeting between the two programs with Bethel holding a 9- 2 advantage in the series. The Lady Wildcats have won nine in a row over the Bearcats.
Tied at 16 all, Bethel used a 4-0 run to lead at the end of the first stanza, 20-16. The Lady Cats would score the first seven points of the second quarter and extend their lead to 27-16. They led 37-26 at the half. Bethel gradually pulled away and led 62-44 at the end of three.
The Wildcats struggled from outside hitting just 10-of-40 three point attempts but had a decisive advantage in points off turnovers at 24-7. They forced Brescia into 23 turnovers. Bethel had a 35-13 margin in bench points. The Lady Cats held the Bearcats to just 32 percent from the field at 16-of-50.
Four players finished in double digits for the Cats. Millie Bryant led the attack with 15 points and six rebounds. She hit five three's in the game. Jani Crawford followed with 12 tallies while Mickey Head and Ashton Hulme each scored 11 in the victory. Hulme had a team high seven rebounds. Tasia Jones had a game high 10 assists. Jones also had six boards.
Brescia's Cassidy Moss had a game high 19 points and a game high nine rebounds.
Coach Chris Nelson said, "It felt good to get another game under our belt. On a night we did not shoot the basketball exceptionally we still tallied 22 assists and thought we were in the right spots offensively. We have a deep bench and we are still working on our rotations. We will take a couple days off to get healthy and focus on a big challenge on the road at Talladega."
Bethel's game scheduled for Tuesday night at Blue Mountain has been postponed. The Lady Cats travel to Talladega November 13.
