Lady Wildcats Host 1st & 2nd Rounds of NAIA Championships in Crisp Arena
Lady Wildcats Host 1st & 2nd Rounds of NAIA Championships in Crisp Arena
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – Friday and Saturday will be historic days in the legacy of Bethel basketball. For the first time ever, the campus will play host to the first and second rounds of the NAIA Women's National Championships.
The No. 1 seed in the Cramer Quadrant, the Bethel Lady Wildcats will host the first and second round action in Crisp Arena in McKenzie. The Cats meet 16th seeded Sterling Friday at 5:30 p.m. Later that night, No. 8 seed Benedictine faces No. 9 LSU Alexandria at 7:30 p.m.
The winners will square off on Saturday at 4 p.m.
First Round: Friday, March 14
Game 1 – Bethel (TN) vs. Sterling (KS)– 5:30pm
Game 2 – Benedictine (KS) vs. LSUA – 7:30pm
Second Round: Saturday, March 15
Game 3 – TBD vs. TBD – 4pm
BETHEL:
The 23-7 and No. 16 in the nation Lady Wildcats are 171-41 all-time in Crisp which opened in 2012.
Bethel won the MSC title in its first-ever championship appearance and did so by beating three nationally ranked teams. The Wildcats beat No. 3 Campbellsville, No. 5 Cumberlands (Ky.), and No. 11 Georgetown (Ky.) by an average of 14.3 points per game during the three-day tournament.
Cat Scratches:
It will be Bethel's first appearance in the national championships since the 2021-22 season.
Bethel averages 76.0 points per game and yields 62.1 per outing.
The Cats shoot 45 percent from the floor while their opponents shoot 37.7 from the field.
Bethel shoots 33 percent from behind the arc. Opponents average 28 percent from long distance. Mikee Buchanan leads the squad in three-point attempts and in made three pointers with 59. The team had hit 253 treys on the year. The team averages eight made per game.
The Lady Cats have been excellent from the free throw line at 75 percent. Madison Hart leads the Lady Cats in free throw attempts and made free throws.
Bethel averages 37 rebounds per game while opponents have averaged 34 per contest. Madison Hart leads the team in rebounding with over seven per outing.
The Cats average 13 assists per game. Hallie Turner leads the team in assists with 117 on the season. The freshman from Memphis Briarcrest averages just under four assists per game.
Micah Hart averages 17.6 points per game. She averaged over 18 points per game in league play. Madison Hart averages 16.2 while Buchanan averages 11.9 points per game. Both players were named to the MSC 1st Team squad. Micah was named the Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year.
Earlier this season, Madison Hart became the 19th player to join the 1.000 Point Club in program history and 18th to collect 500 or more rebounds.
Closing in on a Milestone:
Coach Nelson's 399 career victories rank him 13th in wins among active women's basketball coaches in the NAIA. He has led Bethel to 12 seasons with 20-plus wins.
During Nelson's tenure as head coach, Bethel has qualified for 13 NAIA national tournaments (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 2022, and 2025).
The game marks the first ever between Sterling and Bethel.
STERLING:
Sterling University is 21-10 on the season. The Warriors won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament and were 11-8 in road games.
The Warriors' longest winning streak on the season was five.
Coach K C Bassett is in her 10th season at Sterling. Bassett was a standout player at Sterling and is in the Athletics Hall-of-Fame at the school.
The Warriors average 78.0 points per game and yield 68.1 per outing.
Sterling shoots 47 percent from the floor and 34 percent from three-point range. The Warriors out rebounded their opponents 34-32. Opponents shoot 42 percent from the floor and 28 on three-point attempts.
KCAC Player of the Year, Korynn Clason leads the Lady Warriors with an impressive 22.2 points per game average , while Alissa Heskamp provides solid support, averaging 13.5 points. Kali Briar leads the Lady Warriors in assists per game with just over three. Bailey Young leads in rebounds with nearly five per game and Heskamp tops the team in steals, averaging just over two per game.
It will be Sterling's 22nd appearance in the championships.
Sterling is located in Sterling, Kansas.
LSUA:
It is just the second time in LSUA Women's Basketball history the team has advanced to the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship tournament.
The Generals (23-8, 18-6 RRAC) will face eight-seed Benedictine University. LSUA enters as the No. 9 seed.
LSUA finished third in the Red River Athletic Conference and made the RRAC Tournament final, falling to LSU Shreveport, 54-51. The Generals took down six-seed Louisiana Christian, 74-60, and two-seed Xavier University of Louisiana, 70-63, on their way to the final.
The first appearance LSUA made at the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship came in 2018-19. The Generals traveled to Billings, Montana and beat Westmont College, 70-59, before falling to Lewis-Clark State College in the Second Round.
LSUA and Benedictine have never faced each other.
The Generals are led in scoring by Dannah Martin-Hartwick. who averages 13.7 points per game. Jewel Jones follows with 12.6 per outing. Benedetta Peracchi averages 12.0 per contest.
LSUA averages 69.5 and yields 63.9 points per game. The Generals shoot 41 percent from the floor and their opponents average 35 percent from the field. LSUA shoots 71 percent from the foul line. The Generals outrebound their opponents 41-35.
LSUA's longest winning streak of the year was eight games.
Billy Perkins joined LSUA Women's Basketball in August 2022 after previously coaching at Central Community College (Nebraska) since 2017.
The 2023-24 season marked the second season for Perkins as the Generals' bench boss. He led LSUA to a 23-8 overall mark, including a 19-3 record in RRAC play, earning him RRAC Coach of the Year honors. It was the most wins in a single season for the women's basketball program, eclipsing the 2018-19 mark of 22.
Perkins is 58-31 at LSUA.
BENEDICTINE:
For the second straight year and 14th time in program history, Benedictine will play in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship.
The Ravens earned their way in this season with an automatic berth after winning the Heart Women's Basketball Championship Game over NAIA-ranked MNU.
The Ravens average 73.5 points per game and yield 60.4 per game.
Benedictine had an eight-game winning streak during the regular season.
Benedictine shoots 42 percent from the floor, their opponents shoot 37 percent from the field.
The Ravens average 32 percent from outside and hold their opponents to 30 percent from long distance. They shoot 68 percent from the foul line and average 18 assists per game. The Ravens outrebound their opponents 44 -33.
Lady Raven women's basketball coach Chad Folsom took over the program heading into the 2001-2002 school year and has become the Ravens all-time winningest coach, guiding the program to a 511-270 mark. Under his leadership, the Lady Ravens have averaged an amazing 21-plus wins for 24 straight years.
Benedictine is located in Atchison, Kansas.
The winner of the Bethel Bracket of the Cramer Quadrant advances to Sioux City, Iowa, for the Quarterfinal Round against the Winner of the Hastings (Neb.) Bracket of the Cramer Quadrant on March 20 or 21.
Watch:
Live Stats:
https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/tournament.php?tid=1062#tourny
Tickets:
https://bethel.prestosports.com/tickets
Tickets can be bought online and at the gate. There w