Lady Cat Comeback Falls Short versus Cumberlands
MCKENZIE, Tenn. - The Bethel Lady Wildcats staged a big comeback Thursday night in Crisp Arena versus the University of the Cumberlands but the rally fell short, as they lost to the Patriots 86-81.
The Patriots moved to 17-5 overall and 11-5 in conference play. The Lady Cats dropped their third in a row and fell to 8-14 on the season. Bethel is 4-12 in MSC action.
The Lady Wildcats led 18-13 after the first quarter, but CU outscored Bethel 33-13 in the second to take a 46-31 lead at the break.
After trailing by as many as 19 in the third, the Cats rallied behind the scoring of Anya Patterson and Alyia Lee to cut the deficit to seven at 61-54 after three.
Bethel cut the UC lead to one on a couple of occasions in the fourth but could never grab the lead. Bethel outscored the Pats 27-24 in the final stanza but CU's Channing Lewis hit five of six free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory for the Pats.
Both squads shot the ball well from deep. UC was 9-of-18 while Bethel was 10-of -19 behind the arc. Cumberlands shot 56 percent from the field while the Cats shot 52 percent from the floor.
Turnovers proved to be a key in the game. Bethel had 21 turnovers while the Pats had 16.
The Pats had a decisive advantage in points off the bench at 33-17.
Kalynn Howard knocked down five treys and led Bethel with 23 points. Keely Morrow had 18 while Lee finished with 16 tallies. Patterson had 11 points.
Destiny Haworth led CU with 22 points. Amerah Steele came off the bench with 19 points. Other CU players finished in double figures with Kaylie Monday scoring 14 points while Lakin Burke had 10.
Coach Chris Nelson commented, " I am proud of the comeback and fight our ladies showed in the second half. I told them at the half I was embarrassed for them after the way they played in that second quarter. We dug a big hole and it proved to be too much to overcome. We have to regroup and get ready for a good Georgetown team. We are still in the hunt for a first round home game in the MSC tournament so we will still have a lot to play for."
Bethel will continue their conference schedule as they play host to the Georgetown Tigers Saturday at 1 p.m.
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 12:30 p.m. on 100.9, WEIO.
https://streamdb6web.securenetsystems.net/v5/WEIO
Tickets: Cashless Gate