Bethel Hits Road for Key Conference Games
PIKEVILLE, Ky. -The Bethel Lady Wildcats look to build momentum after their home win over Lindsey Wilson with a two-game conference road trip beginning Thursday in Pikeville, Kentucky. The Cats meet the Bears at 4:30 p.m. CST. They travel to Shawnee State Saturday for a noon CST tip.
UPIKE beat Bethel back in mid-November in McKenzie. The Lady Wildcats could not overcome a cold shooting second quarter (2-13) and fell for the first time on the season, losing to (RV) Pikeville 63-55. The Cat shot just 15 percent in the quarter and 37 percent in the game.
Bethel trailed 35-26 at halftime but mounted a comeback outscoring the Bears 18-8 in the third quarter to take a 44-43 lead after three. UPIKE answered with a 20-11 margin in the final frame.
Each team committed 18 fouls in the game. The Bears hit 17-of-23 free throw attempts while Bethel was 17-of 22 from the foul line.
Bethel was outrebounded losing the battle of the boards at 30-26.
Sierra Feltner was one of three Bears in double figures and led Pikeville with 16 points.
Bethel's Kyla Taylor had a game high 19 points. Madison Hart had 17 points. Hart also had a game high nine rebounds.
Bethel enters the game at 8-11 overall and 4-9 in the MSC. The Cats are 1-7 in road action on the season.
The Bears have won eight in a row and are 14-4 and 9-3. Pikeville is 6-2 in home games this year.
It will be the eighth meeting between the two programs with UPIKE holding a 5-2 advantage in the series.
Game Coverage:
Watch:
UPIKE Sports Network - UPIKE Athletics (upikebears.com)
Stats:
https://bethel.prestosports.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20221215_f4xk.xml
Bethel averages 65.1 and yields 67.7 points per game. The Lady Cats shoot 38.6 percent from the floor and 27.8 percent from behind the arc. Their opponents shoot 40.1 percent from the field and 33.2 percent in attempted three-pointers. The Cats outrebound their opponents 34-32 per game.
Hart leads Bethel in scoring at 16.6 points per game. Keely Morrow averages 13.5 per outing.
Coach Chris Nelson is 358-180 and 15th in wins among active NAIA coaches. His teams have hit at least one three -pointer in 538 straight games. Nelson has been a four-time finalist for both the WBCA National Coach of the Year and WBCA Regional Coach of the Year awards. He has been named the conference coach of the year five times during his career. Nelson was named WHoopDirt.com NAIA Coach of the Year presented by Pivot Analysis for the 2019-20 season. He was also named the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
UPIKE averages 72.2 and yields 63.9 points per game. The Bears shoot 48 percent from the floor. They are averaging 27 percent from behind the arc. UPIKE's opponents shot 41 percent from the floor and 24 percent in three-point attempts. The Bears outrebound their opponents 38-30 per game.
Five players average in double figures for Pikeville with Mary Englert leading the attack with 13.6 points per game.
Clifton Williams is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Bears. He is 118-82 at UPIKE.