BETHEL ACRES— As usual, the Bethel Lady Wildcats (ranked third in 3A) and Dale Lady Pirates (No. 1 in 2A) went toe to toe on the hardwood Friday night and the homestanding Lady Wildcats emerged with a 45-41 victory. Game two turned the evening anti-climactic as 3A’s top-ranked Wildcats pasted Dale (10th in 2A) 82-52.
With the girls’ game tied at 28 with 6:09 remaining in the contest, senior point guard Brittany Watson stole a Dale pass, went the length of the court, scored the basket, was fouled, and hit the and-one freebie to give the Lady Wildcats a 31-28 advantage.
“That (Watson steal and score) was big for us,” said Bethel head coach Jerry Johnson. “
The Lady Wildcats were able to hang on down the stretch by hitting 10-of-12 free throws in the final 1:18 of play. “We did what we were supposed to do,” said Johnson about his team’s free throw shooting down the stretch. “Also, Lauren Tade came off of the bench and played exceptionally well on both ends. She was perfect from the floor, hitting a trey and both of her free throws.”
It was a typical Bethel vs. Dale matchup, with both defenses making life miserable on the offensive end of the court. “This game was an outstanding defensive battle,” said Johnson.
Dale exited the first quarter of play with a slim 7-5 lead. Bethel responded and took a score of 20-18 into intermission and like a true heavyweight fight, Dale captured a 27-26 lead after three quarters of play.
Brenna Burnett led Dale in scoring with 14 points and was joined in game-high scoring honors by Bethel’s Heather Mullendore and Taylor Cooper. Breck Clark added nine points for the Lady Pirates.
The boys’ game was over long before the final horn sounded, or the halftime horn for that matter.
Bethel used a three-point barrage to knock Dale out early. Bethel’s Cale Jackson and Kyle Lewis each hit two treys in the opening quarter of play to take a 25-4 lead into the second quarter. Bethel scored the first 13 points of the game.
The duo continued with hot hands in the second as the Wildcats built a 51-11 halftime lead.
Jackson and Lewis finished the game with five treys apiece. Jackson led all scorers with 30 points in three quarters of play. Lewis finished with 15.
Bethel led 72-34 after three quarters of play.
Jimmy Doolin led Dale in scoring with 16 points. He hit two treys in the process, and Turner Coon added eight points for the Pirates.
Bethel’s Josh Benard joined Jackson and Lewis in double-figure scoring with 10 points.
The Bethel squads will travel to face Little Axe on Tuesday night.
Dale will be back home to face Konawa on that same night.
SHAWNEE, Okla. —
