Lady Wildcats See Postseason Run End in Sioux City
SIOUX CITY, Iowa, - The (RV) Bethel Lady Wildcats saw their outstanding postseason run end Thursday afternoon falling 70-48 to No.1 ranked Southeastern in the Round of Sixteen in the 41st NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa. Bethel was the only 12th seed to advance to the Round of Sixteen.
Bethel's season ended at 21-14. The Fire moved to 32-1 and will play Saturday against Morningside who beat Carroll later in the day.
The Wildcats led 26-23 at halftime but the Fire used a 10-0 run to open the third quarter and outscored Bethel 47-22 in the second half to win their 28th straight game. The game marked just the second (16-2) time this season Bethel had led at the half and lost.
Both teams struggled from outside, especially in the first half. Bethel hit four of their six three's in the first half but finished just 6-of-41 three-point attempts in the game. Southeastern was 0-of-17 in the first half. The Fire hit all their eight treys in the second half and finished just 8-of-35 from deep.
The Cats shot 30 percent from the floor at 19-of-62. The Fire shot 35 percent hitting 24-of-67 from the field. Bethel was 4-of-5 from the foul line while Southeastern hit 14-of-16 tries from the charity stripe. After holding their own on the boards in the first half the Wildcats were outrebounded by the bigger Fire team at 44-32. The Fire had a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint.
Millie Bryant led Bethel with fourteen points. Bryant finished her storied career with 1,350 career points which is eighth all-time in program history. Bryant pulled down five rebounds giving her 658 in her career. She finished eighth all-time in rebounding in program history. Bryant became the 10th Lady Wildcat to score 1,000 points or more and collect five hundred rebounds or more in program history.
Ryann Roberts was the only other Wildcat in double figures with twelve points. Bethel senior Mickey Head had a game high ten rebounds. Head completed her illustrious career with 923 boards and 297 blocks. Head is the all-time program leader in blocks. Head had 1, 317 points with 834 of those coming in a Wildcat uniform.
Angela Perry had a game high twenty-one points for the Fire.
It was Bethel's fourteen national tournament appearances which includes two semi-final berths and four Round of Sixteen appearances. Bethel was making their first appearance in the Round of Sixteen since 2017. The program qualified for the 2020 national tourney which was not held due to Covid19. It was Bethel's 519th straight game with hitting at least one three-pointer.
Southeastern is now 11-6 all-time in the NAIA tournament. Bethel fell to 7-14.
Coach Chris Nelson shared his thoughts about the game and season. "We are so immensely proud of our ladies in the way they have represented our program and school. This season has been hard but one of the most rewarding of all our years. These ladies were able to overcome so much, and they accomplished the ultimate goal and that was to become a team. We were 9-9 at one point on the season and these ladies fought through challenging times and figured it out. We would like to thank our seniors for everything they have done for our program and wish them the absolute best."