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Lady Wildcats Fall In Conference Title Game

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — No. 2 seed Loyola (La.) beat top-seeded Bethel (Tenn.) 73-65 to claim the 2019 SSAC Women’s Basketball Championship, presented by Newk’s Eatery. The Wolf Pack are tourney champs for the second-straight season.
Inside The Box Score
Loyola held Bethel to 34% shooting from the field and 9-of-30 from distance, while Loyola shot 40% overall and hit 10-of-24 from 3-point range.
Championship MVP Kaila Anthony led everyone with 30 points, while Presley Wascom added 10 points and Kamille Cooper pulled down 10 rebounds.
Bethel got 22 points and seven boards from Myah Taylor, 10 points off the bench from Jani Crawford and 10 boards from Tyasia Wilis.
Additional Notes
Loyola’s Kaila Anthony hit a 3-pointer 26 seconds into the game and the Wolf Pack never trailed the rest of the way.
The Wolf Pack pushed the lead to 42-28 with 7:20 to go in the third quarter, but Bethel went on a 21-7 run to tie it at 49-49 before a Wascom 3-pointer reclaimed the lead for good for Loyola.
Clinging to a 59-57 lead in the final period, the Wolf Pack put it away with an 11-2 run, with seven points coming from Anthony.
The Lady Wildcats by virtue of winning the regular season crown will make their 13th national tournament appearance later this month. It will be Bethel’s seventh straight season to reach the championships.
Coach Chris Nelson commented on the game, the season and what lies ahead for his squad.

“Of course we are disappointed with the outcome of the game today but I am proud of how we battled back and put ourselves in a position to win. Give Loyola a lot of credit. They are talented and played well.
They hit shots early and again later when they had to. It was a good effort by both teams in what I thought was a well officiated game.”
He added. “It has been a really good season and we still have an opportunity to achieve two of our three goals we set before the year began. We will return to campus and set our sights on the national tourney in Billings.”
The NAIA releases the field for the national tournament Wednesday afternoon.
All-Tournament Team
Tabitha Robinson,Stillman (Ala.)
Joy Hadley, Brewton-Parker (Ga.)
Myah Taylor, Bethel (Tenn.),
Jani Crawford, Bethel (Tenn.)
Megan Worry, Loyola (La.),
Championship MVP Kaila Anthony, Loyola (La.)*

Basketball, Conference, Basketball