Lady Cats Suffer Tough Home Loss to Cumberlands
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The (RV)Bethel Lady Wildcats returned home Thursday to face the (RV) University of the Cumberlands Patriots. Both squads entered the fray with MSC tournament seedings on the line.
In what turned out to be a defensive battle, the Patriots prevailed 57-54. Bethel dropped to 17-12 overall and 11-10 in the league. Cumberlands moved to 19-10 and 13-8.
Bethel fell to 12-4 at home on the season and 143-25 all-time in Crisp Arena.
The teams met in Williamsburg on January 18 with UC winning 77-71.
The Patriots led 14-10 at the end of one but Bethel outscored the visitors from Kentucky 19-13 in the second to lead 29-27 at halftime. Bethel upped their margin by outscoring UC 16-15 and took a three point lead at 45-42 at the end of three. Bethel led 52-50 late in the game but UC outscored the Lady Cats 7-2 to take the victory. The loss marked the first time this season Bethel has lost after leading at halftime.
Both squads struggled from the outside hitting just nine three-pointers on 42 attempts. The Cats connected on five treys while the Patriots hit four. Bethel shot 32 percent from the field while UC shot 35 percent. The Pats had a 35-29 advantage in rebounding with several key boards resulting in key baskets in the fourth quarter.
Millie Bryant scored a game high 17 points for Bethel. Jenna Foust had 13 points. Mickey Head had a team high 10 rebounds for the Cats.
Channing Lewis and Abbi Douglas led the Patriots with 13 points each. Lewis also grabbed a game high 13 rebounds. Kassie Monday finished with 12 points.
Bethel's Bryant finished the game with 1,367 career points and 626 career rebounds. She is 8th in program history in scoring and 9th 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.
Head finished the contest with 885 career rebounds and 273 career blocks. She has 1, 264 career points with 781 of those as a Lady Wildcat.
Trends & Numbers:
Bethel is 16-1 when they outshoot their opponents.
The Cats are 16-4 when they hit more three-pointers.
The Lady Cats are 14-0 when they outrebound their opponents.
Bethel is 13-1 when leading at the half.
The Cats are 10-8 when they have less turnovers.
Bethel is 9 -2 when they score 70 or more points in a game.
Coach Chris Nelson commented, "Tonight was a tough loss in more ways than one. It was a key conference game with a lot of implications, and it was a game where I felt we could never gain full control. Every time we had it, they would come storming back and make a play. It was a very physical game that came down to the last four minutes and Cumberlands simply made more plays than us."
The Lady Wildcats close out their regular season Saturday at 2 p.m. playing host to UPIKE on Senior Day.
Ceremonies will take place before tip-off.
Live Radio: The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 1:30 p.m. on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com.
Live video:
https://bethelathletics.com/WildcatStreaming
Live stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220217_tnyf.xml
Tickets:
All tickets must be purchased in advance.
https://bethelathletics.com/bethel-box-office