Lady Wildcats Face Daunting Schedule Upon Return after Holidays
GEORGETOWN, Ky. – The Bethel Lady Wildcats return to the hardwood Thursday as they travel to Georgetown to battle the 24th ranked Lady Tigers. Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m. CST
The Cats are 7-8 and 3-6 after their loss to No. 1 ranked Thomas More just before Christmas.
The Georgetown game marks the first of several matchups against ranked opponents. Bethel meets the (RV) University of the Cumberlands Saturday in Williamsburg. The Cats return home to face No. 3 Campbellsville on January 12. The Lady Cats then face two teams they have suffered losses to during the season. They host Lindsey Wilson on the 14th and then travel to UPIKE on the 19th.
Bethel is 1-5 on the road this year. They are 6-2 at home and 0-1 in in one neutral sits game. The Cats are 151-27 in the ten-year history of Crisp Arena.
Georgetown has won three straight and four of their last five. The Tigers are 10-5 and 6-3. GC is 4-3 in home action.
It will be the sixth meeting between the two programs with Georgetown leading the series 3-2. The Tigers defeated Bethel 63-59 in the quarterfinals of the MSC Tournament in Bowling Green last year.
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Stats:
https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20230105_jyhp.xml
The Lady Cats are averaging 65.5 points per game and yielding 67.4 per outing. Bethel is 1-7 when they score 65 points or less in a game. The Cats shoot 39 percent from the floor. They average 26 percent in three-point attempts. Bethel shoots 77 percent from the free throw line. The Wildcats outrebound their opponents 35-33 per game. The squad averages 12.5 assists and 13 turnovers per contest. Bethel's opponents are shooting 40 percent from the floor and 34 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Madison Hart leads Bethel in scoring at 17.3 points per game. Keely Morrow follows at 13.5 per outing.
Coach Chris Nelson is in his 17th year with the Lady Cats and is 357-177. He is 15th in wins among the active coaching ranks in the nation. His squads have hit at least one three-pointer in each of his 534 games.
Georgetown is averaging 74.1 and yielding 65.4 points per game. The Tigers shoot 43 percent from the floor and 30 percent from the three-point arc. GC shoot 74 percent from the charity stripe. The Tigers outrebound their opponents 31-27 per outing. GC's opponents are shooting 41 percent from the floor and 26 percent in three-point attempts. Georgetown is averaging 12 assists and 13 turnovers per game.
GC is led in scoring by Erin Toller who averages 11.5 points per game. Madison Darnell follows at 11.3 while Izzy Lamparty pops in 10.7 tallies per contest.
Jeff Nickel is in his second season as head coach of the Tigers. He is 31-17 at GC. Nickel spent 10 seasons as head coach at Shawnee State. He won five MSC tournament titles and three regular season titles at SSU. His program had eight straight NAIA national tournament appearances and he took SSU to its first ever No. 1 ranking. He has a career mark of 246-77.
The two teams will meet again in Crisp Arena on January 28.