No. 25 Tigers Fall to No. 1 Wildcats On the Road

MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The No. 25 Georgetown College women's basketball team (15-3, 0-2 MSC) fell 80-61 to No. 1 Bethel University (17-1, 2-0 MSC) in Crisp Arena on Saturday afternoon. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
After both sides traded the opening two baskets, the Tigers sank back-to-back 3-pointers to open up a quick 10-4 lead within the opening two and a half minutes. From there, the Wildcats tied it behind a pair of shots from distance of their own. The final two minutes of the quarter, though, were unfriendly to Georgetown. The offense slowed, and Bethel went on an 8-5 run to take a 22-20 lead at the end of the first.

The offensive woes continued into the second for the Tigers. After Anna Long sank the opening free-throw of the frame, the Wildcats used an 8-0 run to open up a 30-21 lead. Laisha Lazu sank her first two buckets as a Tiger to cut it 30-25. Over the final four and a half minutes of the half, Bethel outscored Georgetown 9-4 and took a 39-29 lead into the locker room.

Daysha Reid opened the half with a 3-pointer, but the Wildcats kept the pressure on and managed to maintain their lead throughout the third. By the media timeout, both sides had added 10 points apiece. From there, the Tigers' offense came to a near halt, surrendering a 9-2 run to sink into a 58-43 hole. Bethel led 62-48 through three quarters complete.

In the opening five minutes of the fourth, the Wildcats had built out as much as a 26-point advantage before Taylee Woodbury scored all five of her points. Woodbury hit a 3-pointer and a layup all within 40 seconds to trim the margin down to 21 points. Five different Tigers scored in the fourth, combining for 16 points in the 80-61 loss.
 
THE TEAM 
Georgetown shot 32.4% from the field. The Tigers were 7-37 (18.9%) from deep and were 8-12 (66.7%) at the free-throw line. GC was outrebounded by BU by one, 38-37. The Wildcats also led in assists, 18-8, while Bethel picked up three blocks to the Tigers' two. GC had six steals while the Wildcats created four.

THE PLAYERS
* Daysha Reid finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-22 shooting with five rebounds.
* Daisy Gale had 15 points and finished off the double-double with 10 rebounds and four assists.
* Taylee Woodbury added five points off the bench and grabbed nine rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Tigers skip their mid-game next week before hosting Cumberland (14-3, 0-1 MSC) a week from today on Saturday, January 17.

Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. against the Phoenix in Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.