Thresher women's basketball falls in home opener to William Woods
Bethel is 0-3 to start the season although out rebounding the Owls and having a late comeback
The Bethel College women’s basketball team fell to William Woods University 66-63, falling just short of a second half comeback.
“We’ve found ourselves having a phenomenal first quarter, but we have to work on staying the course and wanting it more than our opponent,” said sophomore Madyson McKinzie, from Dumas, Ark. "We tend to get comfortable in our lead, and become laxed during the second and third quarter. That’s when we find ourselves in the predicament of being down, and having to fight our way back up.”
The Threshers jumped out to a 21-10 lead in the first quarter, before being outscored 27-8 in the second quarter, finding themselves down 37-29 to the Owls.
Head Coach Rocky Lamar had this to say about the Threshers’ close loss:
“We were much better rebounding against William Woods and I hope that continues,” said Coach Lamar. “Our spacing was not great on offense and we still allowed too many open threes.”
The Threshers won the rebounding margin by 9, and outscored the Owls in the paint 44-26. However, Bethel allowed William Woods to shoot 43% from three point range, over double the percentage that the Threshers shot, which was 21%.
Despite these numbers, there were a lot of bright spots for the Threshers. Sophomore Kendall Locke had a double-double, with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Bethel had two other players in double digits as well: both Madyson Mckinzie and Natalie Richards added 14 on the night.
The Threshers defense forced 15 turnovers against the Owls, with both Kendall Locke and Caryn Yoder tallying 3 steals. The Threshers were able to outscore the Owls in the second half, but the second quarter proved to be too much to overcome down the stretch of the game for the Threshers.
“I was very happy to see the team not give up, and continuing to play the game all the way until the end,” said Mckinzie. “That not only goes for the ladies on the floor, but the support from our bench as well. I think that says a lot about our team. Giving up isn’t an option when we’ve worked so hard to get here, and to prove to everyone that we have what it takes to be champions.”
Coach Lamar echoed a similar sentiment as Mckinzie, reflecting on the Threshers’ first three games so far this season.
“I am very pleased with how hard they are playing,” said Coach Lamar. “I know if that continues we will have a successful season.”
Bethel women’s basketball plays next on Thursday Nov. 7th, at 6 p.m. in Thresher Gym against Hastings.