Bethel Lady Wildcat Basketball 2023-24 Season Preview
Lady Cats Open Season Friday in Tip-off Classic
Entering the postseason last year, the Bethel Lady Wildcats had won five of their last six games with the lone loss to then No.1 ranked Thomas More. Despite a disappointing loss in the opening round of the MSC Championships there is a good vibe about the 2023-24 campaign.
The Wildcats return Second Team All-MSC performer Madison Hart who averaged 15.1 points and almost seven rebounds per game last year. The 5-11 sophomore was named MSC Player of the Week twice. Floor General Kalynn Howard returns for her junior season. The Covington, Tennessee native averaged over eight points and four rebounds last season. Howard also averaged three assists per outing. Post player Alyia Lee will be a senior this season. Lee averaged 8.3 points and almost seven rebounds. Lee is joined by fellow senior Kyla Taylor who averaged six points and six rebounds last year.
There will be several veterans returning with many of those coming back with valuable experience. Anya Patterson, Haleigh Caviness, Rachel Childress and Kayla Gilmore all contributed in seasons past. Other returners include Kate Bramlett, Brooklyn Williams, Karlee Bramlett and CeCe Johnson.
Bethel did lose their second leading scorer in Keely Morrow (13.9), but several new faces look to fill that void. Size could be a factor as four new players are 5'10 or taller. Alyssa Morris comes in as a 5'10 junior transfer from the University of Central Missouri. Freshmen Merdith Simmons is a 5'11 PF from Community High School. Laura Nichols (5'10) small forward from Creekwood High School looks to get playing time as well. The Cats also picked up a hometown (McKenzie) 5'10 player in Kylie Reynolds. Karmen Frost (Crockett County HS), Lauren Bryant (Wayne County HS) Myah Sutton (Oakland HS) are new faces added during the off-season.
Bethel plays in several classics during the season including home openers on October 27/28. The Chamber Classic is the following weekend. Bethel will play in the Faulkner Classic and FHU Classics in November. The Lady Cats travel to Lakeland, Florida in December to participate in the SEIU Classic.
The Wildcat begin league play in January traveling to Freed-Hardeman. The first three MSC games are road games. The 12-game conference schedule will be challenging as always.
Coach Chris Nelson is in his 18th season as the head coach of the Bethel women's basketball program in 2023-24. He is beginning his sixth year on the board of directors for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
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.
Nelson has a career mark of 363-185 which ranks him 15th in wins among active coaches in the NAIA.
He will be assisted by Mark Vaughn, Jennifer Nelson and GA, Raegan Blackburn.
Coach Nelson commented, "Basketball season is upon us and we couldn't be more excited to see our team play. We feel like experience is the big key for us. As last season went on, we just continued to get better, and things were clicking late. We return the key pieces in the right positions to have the foundation we need in order to get ourselves in the right position for a post season run. We have added a lot of high character kids that know how to win, and we hope that pays off. Our schedule was very strategic as far as scheduling teams with high RPI and SOS and teams that made the national tournament last season. Our conference has shrunk in numbers but not in strength. We know we have to be battle tested going in and ready for adversity every night. We have a lot to build on from last season and can't wait to see what we can do this year."