Lady Cats Use Fast Start & Hold on to Beat Montana State -Northern
CHANDLER, AZ – The Bethel Lady Wildcats used a fast start and then held on to beat Montana State -Northern 66-63 Tuesday in the Cactus Frontier Classic in Chandler, Arizona.
The Chandler Gilbert CC Arena was to the early shooters liking for the Bethel squad. Ashton Hulme nailed an early three which was followed by two three-pointers by Ryann Roberts. Those shots set the early tone for the Cats who led 18-7 after one.
Bethel would go on to lead 29-9 with just under five minutes left in the half. Montana State-Northern put together a 10-point unanswered run however and outscored the Cats 16-4 to close the Bethel advantage to 33-25 at the break. Roberts finished the half with a team leading 15 points.
Bethel shot 38 percent from the field in the half. The Skylights shot just 13 percent in the first quarter but wound-up shooting 33 percent in the half.
The Skylights outscored the Cats 9-2 to open the third stanza. Keely Morrow had a steal and hit two free throws and followed with an offensive rebound and stick back basket to give Bethel a 39-34 margin. Millie Bryant hit a bucket to give Bethel a 41-34 cushion. Montana State-N closed the gap to 43-41 after three.
The fourth quarter saw the Skylights tie the game at 49 with 8:28 left. On an assist by Kyla Taylor, Bryant put the Cats back up at 51-49. The teams went toe to toe answering with clutch plays and baskets, but Bethel would never relinquish the lead. With 2:24 left and Bethel clinging to a 62-61 lead, Hulme came up with a huge rebound which was followed by free throws by Morrow. Roberts sealed the deal with a steal and Bethel would move to 8-4 on the season. Montana State-N lost their sixth straight and fell to 3-9.
MS-N outshot Bethel 38 percent to 36 percent. They outrebounded Bethel 33-28. The Skylight bench outscored Bethel's bench 16-2 but Bethel's nine three-pointers proved to be a big difference. MS-N hit five three-pointers. The Cats are 6-1 when they hit more three-pointers in a game. The Cats are 7-0 when they lead at the half.
Roberts led the Cats with 20 points. Morrow followed with 18. Bryant finished with 13 while Hulme had nine points and a team leading 12 rebounds. L'Tia Lawrence led the Skylights with 18 points.
Coach Chris Nelson commented, "Today was a battle against a very well coached team. Our players are learning to be resilient in tough game situations and fighting through in game adversity. Ryann got off to a hot start today and got us going. Credit MSU Northern for responding and making it a hard-fought victory. Ashton stepped up big for her team today on the glass and got us some much-needed boards. Keely and Millie made some big plays down the stretch for us to secure the victory."
The Cats are back in action Wednesday facing No. 5 Carroll College at 11 a.m. The game will be played at Mesa Community College.
Live video:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCERBVRktYtkfbDskcdmuZ8A
Live stats:
https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20211222_lb1h.xml