Lady Pilots look to finish strong with end in sight

As a result of battling through many close conference games, the Bethel Women’s basketball team has managed to achieve a 8-6 MCC record. The Lady Pilots are currently competing in a top-notch conference in which four teams are ranked in the top 25 while two others are receiving votes. As of right now, the team finds themselves sitting in fourth place with plenty of potential to finish third or higher. They have two conference games left before entering the MCC tournament. Despite suffering some tough losses in the conference this season, the Lady Pilots could find themselves to be a very dangerous team come tournament time. Overall, this has been a team that can put up a lot of points and become very difficult to guard. The Pilots picked up an impressive victory on Wednesday night over a top 25 ranked Marian University squad. The Pilots defeated the Knights by a score of 57-52. The game was not pretty as both teams struggled at finding a consistent shooting flow, but Bethel outrebounded Marian and got to the free throw line enough to get the win. The Pilot’s pressure defense held the Knights to shooting a dreadful 30 percent from the field and 15 percent from three point range. Leading the Pilots were Heather Seyfred and Bekah Basinger. Seyfred scored 19 points and Basinger added 17 points and nine rebounds. Although the team fell to Huntington in their last road game, the Lady Pilots had won the previous two games. They put up 92 points in their win over Goshen and 79 against Spring Arbor to protect their home court. This could be a very valuable component in the MCC tournament, as Bethel is currently 5-2 at home in the conference. The team has fallen to the top three teams on the road this season; nevertheless they have competed in each one of them and have proved that they can also be road warriors. In the last four games, the Lady Pilots have relied on the Junior leadership of Bekah Basinger. Basinger had a very impressive game against Goshen, with a whopping 30 points and eight rebounds. In their win over Spring Arbor she was the second leading scorer with 16 points and grabbed five boards. Although the team fell in their last road game to Huntington, Basinger was the only Lady Pilot scoring in double digits with 12 points. She also contributed with five rebounds in that game as well. Another player that has stepped lately up by playing a number of roles on the team has been Freshman Georgia Boisse. Boisse has contributed significantly as a freshman and has proven to be a great addition to the team. In their last three wins, she has made enormous efforts with rebounds. Boisse grabbed 13 rebounds against Marian, 14 rebounds in their win over Goshen and eight rebounds in the Spring Arbor game which led all other Lady Pilots. As a team, the Lady Pilots have also shot the ball very impressively. They have hit ten threes in three of their last four conference games. One of the key shooters for the Lady Pilots has been Heather Seyfred. Seyfred put up 22 points in the win over Goshen and 20 points in the win over Spring Arbor. In addition 12 of her 20 points against Spring Arbor came by the way of the three pointer. Another contributor has been Mandy Yoder. Yoder has consistently put up solid numbers in the scoring column and has proven herself to be a dangerous threat from outside the three point line. Yoder had an impressive 22 point game in their win over Grace at home. Despite the unfortunate loss of Kristen Hicks earlier in the season, the Lady Pilots have continued to compete very strongly in conference play. In their last two games, Bethel will host conference the University of Saint Francis and travel to Taylor University. The St. Francis game could be crucial for the Lady Pilots as the Cougars are ahead of them in the conference standings and national rankings. With the win over Marian and the opportunity to defeat St. Francis, the Lady Pilots could expect to improve their standings significantly in the MCC. The game against St. Francis is also the last regular season home game for the Lady Pilots. In addition to these two teams, Bethel will also travel to Taylor to take on the Trojans. In their last meeting, the Lady Pilots knocked off the number 23 Trojans by a score of 63-53. The Pilots hope to replicate this performance in their next contest against Taylor. After these games, the Lady Pilots will enter the MCC Tournament where they hope to make a run to the conference championship game and possibly earn a berth back to the NAIA National Championship.