47 The Bethel College Lady Pilots suffered a heart-breaking 74-77 defeat to the Huntington University Foresters on Tuesday evening at Huntington. The loss ended any hope of Bethel qualifying for the NAIA tourney for the fourth consecutive year. Bethel and Huntington were evenly matched in the first half as Bethel took a three point lead into halftime off of junior Bekah Basinger’s three pointer at the buzzer. The Lady Pilots saw their lead increase to five points early in the second half, but a shooting slump midway through the half dug them into a deep hole that was just too much to overcome. Because of the cold shooting Bethel found themselves down 11 points with just under six minutes remaining. While the team frantically tried to surmount the deficit, the comeback charge fell just short as Heather Seyfred missed a three point attempt at the final buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime. Leading the way in scoring for the Pilots against the Foresters was junior guard Mandy Yoder who scored 24 points and dished out six assists. The only other Pilot to score in double figures was Basinger who contributed 20 points and four rebounds. Although the Pilots are disappointed that they are not heading back to the NAIA National Championship, they are not finished playing yet. The Pilots will participate in the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) tournament. Bethel hopes to regroup after their disappointing conference season and make a strong push to win this end of the year national tournament. It is yet to be determined when the next game will be for the Pilots.
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