Lady Wildcats Face the Hastings Broncos Thursday in Round of 16
SIOUX CITY, Iowa- The 44th Annual Women's National Championship moves to Round of 16 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa Thursday.
Fresh off their impressive wins at home in the first and second rounds of the championships, the No.1 seeded Bethel Lady Wildcats in the Cramer Quadrant are riding a six-game winning streak and will take on No. 12 seed Hastings College. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.
Both squads are 25-7.
Bethel won the Mid-South Conference title in its first-ever championship appearance and did so by beating three nationally ranked teams. The No. 16 ranked Wildcats beat No. 3 Campbellsville (Ky.), No. 5 Cumberlands (Ky.), and No. 11 Georgetown (Ky.) by an average of 14.3 points per game during the three-day tournament.
The Lady Cats beat Sterling and Benedictine in first and second round action in McKenzie this past weekend.
The Broncos lost to No.1 Dordt in the Great Plains Conference Tournament Semi-Finals. Hastings had beaten College of the Ozarks and Bob Hughes earlier in the tournament.
The Lady Cats average 76.1 and yield 63.6 points per game. Bethel shoots 42 percent from the floor. Their opponents average 36 percent from field. The Cats shoot 33 from behind the three-point arc and hold their opponents to just 27 percent from deep. Bethel has been efficient from the foul line at 75 percent. The Cats outrebound their opponents 36-34.
Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year, Micah Hart leads Bethel in scoring at 17.8 points per game. Micah leads the team in steals with 62. All-Conference performer Madison Hart follows at 16.7 per outing. She leads the squad in rebounding at seven per game. Mikee Buchanan averages 11.8 points per contest. Mikee B leads the team in blocks with 30.
Hallie Turner averages 6.5 points per game and leads Bethel in assists with 124.
Coach Chris Nelson (401-208) is in his 19th season as head coach at Bethel. Coach Nelson's 401 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.
He served eight years on the board of directors for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and is currently serving as the 1st Vice president for the WBCA Executive Committee. He is also on the NAIA National Selection Committee.
During Nelson's tenure as head coach, Bethel has qualified for 12 NAIA national tournaments (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022).
The Lady Wildcats are 173-41 Iin home games at Crisp Arena since the venue opened in 2012.
This is the 15th year Bethel has appeared in the national tournament and first since 2022.
Bethel reached the Elite Eight in 2014 and 2015. The Lady Cats have reached the Round of Sixteen three times, with the last being in 2017.
Hastings last qualified for the tournament in 2020 and is making their 22nd appearance in the Big Dance.
Ann Bose leads the Broncos in scoring at 11.8 points per game. Mariyah Avila follows at 11.4 points per outing. McKenna Yates averages 11.3 tallies per contest.
Avila leads the squad in steals with 65. She also leads the Broncos in assists with 95. Rachel Goodon is the leading rebounder for Hastings averaging 6. 6 per game. Goodon leads the team in free throw attempts and made free throws. Bose leads the team in three pointers made with 67. Six different Broncos have made 40 or more three-pointers on the year.
Hastings averages 81.8 points per game. They yield 66.2 points per outing. They outrebound their opponents 44-39.
The Broncos shoot 43 percent from the floor while their opponents shoot 38 percent from the field. Hastings hits 34 percent of their three point attempts and 70 percent from the free throw line.
Jina Douglas is in her 10th season as the head coach of the Hastings College Women's Basketball team. At Hastings College, she has continued the rich tradition of women's basketball by making the national tournament in five of her seven seasons. She has also left her own mark on the program as she recorded her 200th career win on Feb. 16th, 2022 against Midland University.
Bethel is proud to partner with The Victory, 93.7 for live action on the radio dial for each game in Sioux City. A special thanks to Bradley Owens and Steve Hemann for their support of the team and Bethel University.
Listen:
Video:
https://www.naia.org/watch/index
Stats:
https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/tournament.php?tid=1062
Tickets:
https://www.tysoncenter.com/events/detail/naia-womens-basketball-national-championship-3
Bracket:
https://www.naia.org/sports/wbkb/2024-25/Files/Bracket_WBB_64Team.pdf