Lady Wildcats Host (RV) Freed-Hardeman Saturday
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – Two old rivals will meet again Saturday at 1 p.m. in Crisp Arena in McKenzie. The Bethel Lady Wildcats and the (RV) Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions will square off for the 36th time. FHU has a 26-9 advantage in the series.
The Lions beat Bethel 72-53 in Henderson in November. Bethel fell behind 19-4 before rallying with 10 unanswered points to shave the deficit to five at 19-14. The Lions would then outscore Bethel 15-12 to lead 34-26 at the half. FHU outscored the Cats 16-11 in the third to extend their lead to 50-37 after three. A 22-16 margin in the final quarter allowed the Lions to pull away and win comfortably. A cold shooting night by Bethel proved to be their downfall. Bethel shot just 33 percent (20-59) from the floor while Freed shot 50 percent (26-52) from the field. FHU had a 40-25 advantage in rebounds and a 19-9 margin in bench points. Bethel hit 10 three-pointers but Freed answered, knocking down 13 on the night. Keely Morrow and Kalynn Howard led Bethel with 14 points each. Madison Hart followed with 12, all of those in the second half. Rachel Satterly was one of three Lady Lions in double figures and had a game high 29 points.
The Cats are 9-14 overall and 5-12 in the Mid-South Conference. Bethel snapped a three-game losing streak with a 68-59 victory over Georgetown Saturday afternoon.
The Lions suffered a 78-59 home loss to the University of the Cumberlands Saturday. FHU is 16-7 and 10-7.
The Lady Wildcats sport a 153-29 all-time mark in the ten-year history of Crisp Arena.
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
https://bethelathletics.com/tickets
Bethel averages 65.4 and yields 68.3 points per game. The Lady Cats shoot 38 percent from the floor and 28 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 15.3 points per game. Morrow averages 14.0 per outing.
Coach Chris Nelson is 359-183 and 15th in wins among active NAIA coaches. His teams have hit at least one three -pointer in 542 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.
FHU averages 65.3 and yields 59.8 points per game. The Lions shoot 43 percent from the floor. They are averaging 34 percent from behind the arc. FHU's opponents shoot 38 percent from the floor and 30 percent in three-point attempts. The Lions outrebound their opponents 34-31 per game.
Three Lady Lions average in double figures. Satterly tosses in 15.4 points per outing. K J White averages 12.5 while Madisyn Baugher averages 10.6 per contest.
Joshua Epperson is in his third year as the head coach of the Lady Lions basketball program and his 20th year of coaching. He is 47-33 with FHU.
Official Game Day Program: