Lady Wildcats Meet Old Rival in Henderson
HENDERSON, Tenn. – Two old foes will meet Saturday for the 70th time as the No. 24 Bethel Lady Wildcats travel to Henderson to meet the No.2 Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions at 2 p.m. in the Brewer Sports Center. Bethel is 7-6 on the season after their 82-64 win over Wilberforce Thursday night in McKenzie. Freed is 7-1 on the year. They are 2-0 at home while Bethel is 0-1 in road games.
The Lady Lions beat Bethel earlier this season 74-47. FHU shot 41 percent from the floor while Bethel struggled from the field hitting just 29 percent. Freed hit seven three's while Bethel managed just one on the night. Sandrea Sylman led the Lady Lions with 19 points. Kim Mallory also had 19 points and nine rebounds. Shamon Pearson was the only Lady Cat in double figures with 10 points.
The last time Bethel beat Freed was in November of 2015 when the Lady Wildcats won 78-65. FHU had won 11 straight prior to that. They have won three in a row in the series currently.
Laurhen Pickett leads Bethel averaging 12.3 points and nine rebounds per game. She is No. 5 in the nation with 20 blocks. Pickett is also No. 2 in total rebounds with 120.
Shamon Pearson is second in scoring averaging 11.0 points per outing. Pearson is eighth all-time on Bethel's scoring list with 1, 255 career points. She also leads the squad in assists and steals on the season.
Jasmine Whittemore leads the squad in three-pointers made with 24. She has 128 career three-pointers which is tenth on the all-time career list.
Morgan Martin leads the team in free throws made and is shooting a team high 82 percent from the foul line. She has her average up to 10.1 points per game.
Bethel is No. 4 in total offensive rebounds with 522. They are No. 7 in defensive rebounds per game at 30.0 Bethel is No. 5 in made three's with 88 on the season. The Lady Cats average 68.1 points per game. They average giving up 59.8 points per outing. Bethel is 6-0 when they score 70 or more points in a game. Dating back to last year Bethel is 21-0 when they score 70 or more points in a game.
The Lady Wildcats are 7-1 when they lead at halftime. They are 7-2 when they out rebound their opponents. Bethel is 7-0 when they outshoot their opponents.
The Lady Lions are No.3 in scoring defense yielding just 47.6. They are No. 7 in three-point field goal defense at 23 percent. They are also No. 7 in field goal defense at 32 percent.
Sylman leads Freed in scoring at 18.3 points per outing. Mallory follows at 13.8 points per game.
Coach Chris Nelson is in his 12th season as head coach of the Lady Wildcats and is 247-127. His teams have hit at least one three-pointer in each of his 374 games.
Dale Neal is in his 48th year of coaching and 24th at FHU. He is 646-173.
Catch the action on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 1:30 p.m.