Lady Cats Host Patriots Thursday in Crisp
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel Lady Wildcats will host the University of the Cumberlands in Crisp Arena Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. It will be RaeKar Night with several promotions and giveaways for fans in attendance.
Bethel is 8-13 overall and 4-11 in the Mid-South Conference. The Cats have lost two in a row and seven of their last ten games. Bethel is 7-3 at home this season and 152-28 all-time in the ten- year history of the arena.
Cumberlands (RV) is 16-5 and 10-5. The Patriots have won eight of their last ten but have dropped two of their last three. UC is 5-3 on the road this year.
It will mark the fifth meeting between the two programs with Cumberlands holding a 4-0 advantage in the series. It will be the second time the two programs have met in McKenzie.
The Lady Wildcats lost to the Patriots 63-59 back in early January in Williamsburg.
After falling behind 12-4, the Cats behind the scoring of Haleigh Caviness and Madison Hart closed the gap to 17-14 at the end of the first quarter. Caviness had seven points while Hart tossed in six tallies.
Balanced scoring allowed the Cats to trail by only one at the half at 36-35. Four Wildcats had five or more points. Caviness led Bethel with 10.
Several lead changes in the third saw the quarter close with Bethel taking a 51-48 margin headed to the fourth stanza.
With the game tied at 55 all with just under four minutes left, the Pats outscored the Cats 8- 4 to win. CU outscored Bethel 15-8 in the final ten minutes.
Bethel shot 36 percent from the floor and knocked down six three-pointers. The Cats struggled from the free throw line at 13-of-23.
Cumberlands (RV) shot 32 percent and nailed seven three-pointers. The Pats hit 16-of -24 free throw attempts.
The Patriots had a 38-30 rebound advantage. The teams combined for 36 turnovers in the game with Bethel finishing with 20 in the game.
Caviness and Alyia Lee led Bethel with 14 points each. Hart who played much of the second half in foul trouble had 11 points. Keely Morrow finished with ten points.
Kassie Monday, the reigning MSC Player of the Week led CU with 15 points.
Live coverage:
Video:
https://bethelathletics.com/watch
Stats:
https://bethelathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20230112_94pf.xml
Radio:
The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 5 p.m. on 100.9, WEIO.
https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WEIO
Tickets: Cashless Gate
https://bethelathletics.com/tickets
Bethel averages 64.6 and yields 67.9 points per game. The Lady Cats shoot 38 percent from the floor and 27 percent from behind the arc. Bethel shoots 75.3 percent from the free throw stripe. Their opponents shoot 40 percent from the field and 32 percent in attempted three-pointers. The Cats outrebound their opponents 33-32 per game.
Hart leads Bethel in scoring at 16.0 points per game. Keely Morrow averages 14.0 per outing.
Coach Chris Nelson is 358-182 and 15th in wins among active NAIA coaches. His teams have hit at least one three -pointer in 540 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.
UC averages 80.2 and yields 68.9 points per game. The Pats shoot 44 percent from the floor. They are averaging 35 percent from behind the arc. UC's opponents shoot 37 percent from the floor and 27 percent in three-point attempts. The Patriots outrebound their opponents 40-34 per game.
Three players average in double figures for UC with Kassie Monday leading the team sporting a 16.7 average per outing.
Rick Reeves is in his 5th season as the Head Coach of the University of the Cumberlands Women's Basketball program. Reeves has led UC to a record of 81-54. Reeves has a career mark of 564-510 in 37 years as a head coach.
Official Game Day Program: