Lady Wildcats Back at Home Tuesday Night
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – For only the second time this season, the Bethel Lady Wildcats will be at home Tuesday hosting Simmons College of Kentucky. The Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. It is Bethel's first home game since November 2nd. Bethel is 167-38 all-time in the arena which opened in 2012.
Bethel is ranked 15th in the nation and is 9-0 on the year. The undefeated record marks the best start for the Lady Cats during the Chris Nelson tenure as head coach.
The visiting Falcons from Louisville are 7-5 on the season. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.
The Lady Cats are led in scoring by freshman Micah Hart who averages 15.6 points per game. Fellow freshman Mickee Buchanan follows at 13.3 points per outing. Junior Madison Hart averages 12.9 points per game and enters the contest with 1, 981 career points. Hart hopes to become the 19th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club.
The Lady Wildcats average 79.4 points per game and yield just 52.8 per contest.
Bethel has been a good shooting squad this season hitting 45 percent from the floor and 37 percent from behind the three-point line. Bethel's defense forces their opponents into 20 turnovers per game.
Coach Nelson is in his 19th year as head coach of the Lady Cats and is 385-201. Coach Nelson's 385 career victories rank him 13th in wins among active women's basketball coaches in the NAIA. He has led Bethel to 11 seasons with 20-plus wins. Nelson is assisted by Raegan Blackburn and Jennifer Nelson.
Earl Ruffin is the head coach of the Falcons.