Women's Basketball
Lady Pilots Bounce Back in Big Way with Win Over Midland Lutheran
Game Summary
The NAIA No. 8 ranked Bethel College Lady Pilots rebounded from an opening night struggle the night before and defeated host Midland Lutheran College 81—58 on Saturday.
The Bethel squad, playing again without junior forward Bekah Basinger, jumped out quick and stepped on the accelerator to lead by 18 points at the half 43—28, led by freshman Kristen Hicks’ 11 points and the stellar point guard play of junior Mandy Yoder, who dished out 6 assists in the opening stanza. The Lady Pilots dominated the boards in the first half, finishing with a 27—16 margin headed into the intermission.
Midland Lutheran was able to fight back and cut the Bethel lead to 10 points with 10 minutes remaining, but Bethel’s hot hand from beyond the arc help build the lead back to as many as 27 points at 78—51. For the game, the Lady Pilots owned the boards at both ends of the court, out rebounding the Lady Warriors 52 to 36, including 15 offensive rebounds.
There were many bright spots for Bethel, including the freshmen tandem of Kristen Hicks and Georgia Boisse, who combined for 22 points and 22 rebounds. Hicks scored 18 points on 7 of 11 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Boisse had her second straight double digit rebound game, grabbing 12 caroms.
Mandy Yoder played a magnificent game for Bethel, nearly recording a triple—double with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Fellow junior backcourt mate Heather Seyfred added 14 points and junior forward Courtney Oleson chipped in with a career high 10 points to go along with 5 rebounds.
“It was good to see the team respond with great intensity tonight,” said coach Jody Martinez. “The team all knew that last night was an embarrassment and it was important for us to come out tonight and have a better performance. We still have a lot of work to do before conference play but tonight we did a much better job of rebounding and all out hustle by everyone on the floor.”
Bethel’s next action will be Saturday, November 7th as they take on cross—town foe Holy Cross at the Wiekamp Center at 1:00 pm.
