MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 7 seeded Bethel Lady Wildcats entered postseason action hosting the No. 10 seeded Georgetown Lady Tigers Monday night in Crisp Arena. The Lady Cats survived and advanced in first round action of the Mid-South Conference Championships with a 77-66 win over the Tigers.
It was the second meeting between the two this season with the Lady Tigers edging Bethel 66-64 in the Commonwealth back on January 11. The other regular season game between the two scheduled in McKenzie was not played due to Covid-19 protocols.
Bethel moved to 12-12 while Georgetown dropped to 3-13. The Lady Cats moved to 9-6 at home on the year and now are 128-21 all-time in Crisp Arena.
GC jumped out to a 9-0 lead only to see the Lady Wildcats answer with a 12- 0 run to lead 12-9 after the first ten minutes. Bethel would extend their run with the first six points of the second quarter and go on to lead 31-23 at the half. The Lady Cats led 39-29 in the third quarter but Georgetown answered with a 12 point unanswered run to lead 41-39. The Lady Cats bounced back to lead 47-43 at the end of three. GC scored the first two points of the fourth but would never get closer as Bethel used six three-pointers in the quarter to ice the game away.
Bethel shot just 36 from the floor but 15 of their 23 field goals were three-pointers. GC shot 38 percent and hit 12 three's. The Lady Cats forced the Tigers into 16 turnovers and had a 25-9 margin in points off turnovers.
Ashton Hulme came off the Bethel bench and led all scorers with a career high 20 points. Hulme had a game high six three-pointers. Anya Patterson hit three of her four three's in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points. Christen King scored a career high 13 points. King also had seven rebounds in the win. Mickey Head followed with 12 points and eight boards. Millie Bryant had 11 points and a game high seven assists.
Grace White led the Tigers with 19 points, all of those in the second half.
Bethel Coach Chris Nelson said, 'I'm really happy for our ladies and proud of them to get this win over a game Georgetown squad. I thought our defense was solid for the most part and points off turnovers proved to be a big key. Our kids stepped up and also hit some big three's. We are happy to advance to Bowling Green and look forward to competing there."
The Wildcats will move on to Bowling Green where the quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 7, the semifinals are slated for Monday, March 1, and the championship game is Tuesday, March 2, all at Bowling Green Arena.
The Wildcats will face either No. 2 seed Campbellsville (Ky.) or third-seeded Lindsey Wilson in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Bethel's opponent will be decided following the Opening Round matchup between No. 6 seed Pikeville (Ky.) and No. 11 seed Cumberland (Tenn.) on Wednesday.
Quarterfinal action tips off at Noon CT on Saturday.
The tournament champion receives one of the conference's two automatic bids into the NAIA National Tournament. If Thomas More wins the tournament, the tournament's runner-up receives the second automatic bid.
