Lady Cats Hope to Keep Momentum Going with Battle versus Rival Freed-Hardeman
MCKENZIE, Tenn. -The Bethel Lady Wildcats will look to win their fourth straight as they host rival Freed-Hardeman Monday night in a key Mid-South Conference match-up for both teams. Both squads enter the game with an 8-8 conference mark. Bethel is 14-10 overall while Freed is 16-8.
It will be the 34th meeting between the two with FHU holding a 25-8 advantage in the series.
Bethel is 11-3 at home on the year and 129-23 all-time in Crisp Arena. FHU is 4-5 on the road on the season. Bethel has won three straight and five of their last six.
The Lady Wildcats opened the second portion of their season in the Brewer Sports Center visiting Freed-Hardeman in Henderson in early January. FHU won 68-51.
A slow start proved to be the undoing of the Lady Wildcats. FHU took a 14-0 lead to open the game and led 18-4 after one. After Freed moved to a 24-4 lead early in the second, the Cats mounted a fierce comeback and cut the deficit to 32-26 with one minute left until halftime. The Lions would lead at the half 35-26.
Both teams struggled early in the third. Bethel trailed 44-28 but rallied again and cut the FHU lead to eight late in the third. Freed led 48-38 after three. The Cats came back and cut the Lion lead to 48-42 with nine minutes left. Freed withstood the Bethel charge and pulled away to win.
Bethel shot 33 percent (19-57) from the field while FHU shot 48 percent hitting 25-of-52 shots from the floor. The Lions had a 32-28 rebound advantage. Both teams struggled from outside combining to hit just six of 29 three-point attempts.
Kyla Taylor led Bethel with a double-double scoring a career high 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The Wildcats are averaging 66.8 points and yielding 59.3 points per outing.
Ryann Roberts leads Bethel in scoring averaging 14.0 points per game. Millie Bryant follows at 13.8 points per outing. Keely Morrow is in double figures at 12.0.
Bryant enters the game with 1,311 career points and 603 career rebounds. She is 10th in program history in scoring and 10th in career rebounds. Earlier this season she became just the 10th Lady Cat to score 1,000 points or more and collect 500 rebounds or more
Mickey Head finished the contest with 848 career rebounds and 263 career blocks. She has 1, 231 career points with 748 of those as a Lady Wildcat.
Bethel shoots 40 percent from the field while their opponents are at 37 percent from the floor. Bethel hits 32 percent of their three-point attempts. The opponents are at 32 percent. Bethel shoots 72 percent from the foul line while opponents shoot 67 percent.
Bethel has a 33-31 advantage in outrebounding their opponents per outing.
Trends & Numbers:
Bethel is 13-1 when they outshoot their opponents.
The Cats are 13-3 when they hit more three-pointers.
The Lady Cats are 11-0 when they outrebound their opponents.
Bethel is 11-0 when leading at the half.
The Cats are 9-7 when they have less turnovers.
Bethel is 8-2 when they score 70 or more points in a game.
FHU averages 70.9 and yields 59.1 points per game. Alyssa LeMay leads the Lions averaging 15.5 points per game.
Joshua Epperson is in his second season as head coach and is 28-21 with the Lions.
Coach Chris Nelson is in his 16th season as head coach of the Lady Cats. He is 343-165 and 15th in wins among active coaches in the NAIA.
The game will be on WEIO, 100.9 and available at www.thefarmradio.com. The Countdown to tip-off Show begins at 5:30 p.m.
Live video:
https://bethelathletics.com/WildcatStreaming
Live stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220205_s9i7.xml
Fans are reminded tickets for all basketball games at Crisp Arena must be purchased in advance. This will be the norm the remainder of the season.
Fans can purchase tickets with their credit cards only.
Tickets:
https://bethel.prestosports.com/bethel-box-office
It is suggested fans wear a mask and practice social distancing outside their family group. These suggestions are for the safety of each and to assure our student-athletes can complete their seasons in a healthy environment.