TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Road games in the SSAC can be tough and dangerous and that proved to be the case for the No. 7 Bethel Lady Wildcats Thursday at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa. The Lady Wildcats had to rally in the fourth quarter to avoid the upset, prevailing 57-51 over the Tigers. Bethel had beaten Stillman 76-38 in McKenzie earlier this season.
Bethel shot just 29 percent in the first half but their defense continued to be rock solid keeping them in the game. The Lady Cats found themselves tied at 23 all with the Tigers at the break. Ty Willis and Millie Bryant each scored eight points to combine for 16 of the 23 Bethel points. Bethel had a 19-14 margin in rebounds in the half.
Bethel jumped out to a 33-26 lead in the third quarter but saw Stillman make a run to outscore the Lady Cats 14-5 and lead at the end of three 40-38.
Stillman led 45-43 with 3:35 left in the fourth but Bethel rallied outscoring the home team 12-7 to pull out the victory.
Big fourth quarter plays by Ge Robinson and clutch free throws by Morgan Martin, Tasia Jones and Millie Bryant helped the Lady Cats prevail. Ty Willis led Bethel with 16 points and 12 rebounds. It was her 8th double-double of the year. Bryant finished with 14 points while Robinson followed with 11. Jones had 10 points. Martin and Jani Crawford each had three points. Mickey Head had several key blocks in the game.
Bethel won despite committing 20 turnovers in the game. Stillman had a 35-14 advantage in bench points. Bethel had a 24-14 margin in points in the paint and had a 43-29 advantage in rebounds.
Bethel improved to 12-1 in the SSAC and 23-4 overall. It was Bethel's 15th straight victory. Stillman dropped to 8-16 and 6-8. Bethel is 4-0 all-time versus the Tigers.
Bethel entered the game averaging 69.3 points while yielding just 54.3 points per game. The Lady Cats are 5th in the nation in points allowed per game. They are 16-1 when an opponent scores 54 or less points per game. Stillman shot 33 percent in the game. Bethel is 3rd in the nation in field goal defense at 33.1 percent.
Coach Chris Nelson commented, "Stillman came to play tonight and we had to battle through adversity the entire game. Stillman came in hungry and physical and it took us some time to adjust. It has been a while since we have been in that type of game. Millie and Tasia made some big plays down the stretch and Ge gave us the spark off the bench we desperately needed. Ty was great with another double -double and she had to especially battle through her nagging injury. The big thing is we did respond when it got hard down the stretch and we figured out a way to win the game. We have to expect every game this time of year is going to be hard."
The Lady Wildcats continue their road trip playing Mobile Saturday in Mobile. Tip-off is slated for noon.
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