Bethel women keep playoff hopes alive with win over Avila
Bethel women keep playoff hopes alive with win over Avila
Locke locked up her seventh game with 20 points, leading the Threshers.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Bethel women’s basketball team got a much-needed win on Wednesday night in a defensive battle against Avila 59-56
Interim Head Coach Rocky Lamar has been consistent this entire season on what his team needs to work on: defense and rebounding. True to form, this is what Lamar attributes the win on Wednesday to.
“The only constant that you have in any game is defense and rebounding,” said Lamar. “When you do that good things will happen.”
Bethel won the rebounding margin 41-29. They also had seven steals as a team, and 16 points off of turnovers. Leading the defensive charge was freshman Kendall Locke, with four steals, her seventh such game of the season with three or more steals.
Locke was also the team leader in rebounds, and one of two Thresher women to have double-digit points in the game against Avila, with 19 points and nine rebounds. Natalie Richards led the team in scoring with 20, her fourth 20-point game of the season. Caryn Yoder led the way in assists, with six.
“[We] attacked the boards on every possession,” said Lamar, when asked about the Threshers’ big rebounding performance.
While the Threshers showed out on defense, they had a rough night on the offensive end of the floor. While the Threshers only had two players in double-digits, they shot only 27.3 % from 3-point range and 35.5 % from the field. Coming away with the win on a night where the offense is struggling is a testament to the energy the team was able to play with on the defensive end.
Traveling to Kansas City on a Wednesday night and coming out with a win is no small feat, and thanks to their efforts, the Threshers are now in a win-and-in situation for the KCAC postseason.
Bethel is taking on Sterling on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Thresher Gym for a rematch of their Jan. 10 matchup, which resulted in an 87-85 win for the Threshers after Richards hit a game-winning shot. With a win this weekend, Bethel would capture the 8th and final seed in the KCAC, earning themselves a conference postseason bid.