McKENZIE, Tenn. - 1/29/2009 - The No. 1 ranked Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ University Lady Bulldogs held off a tough Bethel (Tenn.) College team 88-78 to improve to 20-1 on the season. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ also maintained a perfect TranSouth Conference record at 8-0 with the win. Bethel dropped to 14-7 overall and 5-4 in league play.
Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ scored the first four points of the game, before jumping out to a 12-4 lead with 14:14 left to play in the first half. Bethel, in front of a packed house in their home gym, rallied to cut the Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ lead down to just one point, 15-14 at the 10:51 mark. Bethel then posted a 17-12 run to take a 31-27 lead with 3:16 left in the half. However, the top-ranked Lady Bulldogs rattled off an 11-1 run to close out the half with a 38-32 lead.
Bethel scored first in the second half, cutting Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s lead down to just four points. But that was as close as the Lady Wildcats would get. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ ran out to their biggest lead of the game at 73-56 with 8:30 left in the game. The Lady Bulldogs, who made just 1-of-6 three pointers in the first half, made 7-of-10 shots from behind the arc in the second half. Bethel cut the lead down to eight points, 86-78 in the final minute, before Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ closed out the win, 88-78.
Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ was outrebounded for only the second time all season, 39-30, but the Lady Bulldogs committed only 11 turnovers in the contest. Bethel attempted 32 free throws, making 21, while Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ was just 4-of-8 from the free throw line.
Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ was led by Kaitlin Dudley with 30 points, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Josephine Owino added 15 points, while Merideth Jacobs scored 11 points. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ shot 56-percent from the field, including 50-percent (8-16) from behind the arc, and 50-percent (4-8) from the free throw line.
Bethel was led Tristen Johnson with 17 points, including 5-of-5 from the three point line. Nina Djokovic added 13 points and Teena Carter scored 11 points. Bethel shot 40-percent from the field, 50-percent (7-14) from behind the arc, and 65-percent (21-32) from the free throw line.
Up next for Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ will be their third road game in a five-road game stretch. The Lady Bulldogs travel to Lyon (Ark.) College for a 2:00 pm game on Saturday, January 31.
#UNION#
| Steven Aldridge Phone: (731) 661-5027 |
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