Bethel women fall short in home opener
The Threshers lost to Southwestern Christian in Lamar’s first home game as interim head coach.
The Bethel women’s basketball team dropped its home opener against Southwestern Christian on Saturday in a game that almost saw fourth-quarter heroics by the Threshers.
The Threshers were down 18 points going into the final period. Despite this, they kept battling and were able to outscore the Eagles by 13, shooting a whopping 58% from the field in the fourth. Bethel’s bid for the comeback came up just short, but it shows what the Threshers are capable of doing in future games.
The Threshers ran the court exceptionally well, doubling the Eagles’ fast-break points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. When asked what the team needed to work on the most, interim head coach Rocky Lamar had only one thing to say: “Rebounding,” in response to being beat on the boards 38-35 and giving up 16 second-chance points.
The Threshers struggled on the boards in their first home game since losing some key rebounders from last year’s team, and they are continuing to adjust to a new operation with an interim coach in Lamar after previous head coach Derrick Pringle departed earlier this semester.
Bethel saw some new and old faces shine in their home opener. Freshman Madyson McKinzie led the team in points with 14 while adding six rebounds. Fellow freshman Kendall Locke added 12 points and led the team with eight rebounds and five assists. Returners Caryn Yoder and Josie Stupey both added nine points for Bethel as well.
Despite a slow start to the season for a young team, starting 0-5 in non-conference play, the Threshers have shown flashes of the potential they have, including in the fourth quarter against Southwestern Christian, and Coach Lamar remains optimistic.
“They are all trying to do things right,” said Lamar. “If [we] always try to do what is right, do more than [our] fair share, and be tough we have a good chance to be competitive in our league.”
The Threshers will be taking this mentality into their first KCAC action of the season as they take the trip to McPherson to take on the Bulldogs on Wednesday with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m.