Lady Cats to Learn Fate for National Tourney Bid Thursday
MCKENZIE, Tenn. - The 41st Annual NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship qualifiers and brackets will be released Thursday night at 6 p.m. via the NAIA. The opening round is set to begin March 11th.
The Bethel Lady Wildcats hope to receive a bid and will learn their fate with the NAIA Selection Show at that time.
Teams from around the nation and their fans can catch the selection show on the NAIA Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/PlayNAIA/?eid=ARAbg2_i3MeV0Ery6KTtficPoBrhDGYkR0kiBJ8FRtYEfm_rTQN1TN2YL-M5JqWEDfPH2I-p8WG9g-8y
Opening Round Sites: Alexandria | Billings | Bowling Green | Crestview Hills | Dayton | Indianapolis | Lakeland | Marion | New Orleans | Newhall | Omaha | Park City | Plainview | Santa Barabra | Sioux City | Wichita
The 16 winners of each opening round site will advance to Sioux City, Iowa for the National Championships March 17-22.
Bethel is 19-13 and had won eight of their last ten games before losing to Georgetown in the MSC Quarterfinals. The Cats are 1-2 in neutral site games this season.
The Wildcats average 65.4 and yield 58.8 points per game.
Millie Bryant leads Bethel in scoring at 13.8 points per outing. The senior from Dresden, Tennessee native also averages six rebounds and three steals per game. Bryant leads the Cats in assists with 92. Keely Morrow follows at 12.2 points per contest. She leads the squad in free throw attempts and made free throws. Ryann Roberts leads the squad in three-point attempts and in made treys. Jenna Foust averages 10.3 points per game. Mickey Head pops in 8.5 points and averages seven boards per game. The senior from Clarksville, Tennessee has 48 blocks on the season.
The Cats shoot 40 percent from the floor and 31 percent from behind the three-point arc.
The Lady Wildcats have made 247 three-pointers on the season. They program record is 302 in 2014-15.
Trends & Numbers:
Bethel is 17-2 when they outshoot their opponents.
The Cats are 17-5 when they hit more three-pointers.
The Lady Cats are 15-0 when they outrebound their opponents.
Bethel is 14-1 when leading at the half.
The Cats are 11-9 when they have less turnovers.
Bethel is 9 -2 when they score 70 or more points in a game.
Bethel's Chris Nelson is in his 16th year as head coach of the Wildcats. He has a record of 348-168 at the school. He is 15th in wins among active coaches in the NAIA.
His teams have hit at least one three-pointer in each of his 516 games. He has led the program to eleven national tournament appearances which include two Elite Eights and three Sweet Sixteen appearances. His squad qualified for the 2020 national tourney which was not held due to Covid19.