Johnson and Ort down Lady Cougars in conference opener

The Lady Pilot basketball team hosted Spring Arbor in their MCC opener Nov. 22. Despite a relentless Lady Cougar team, Bethel was eventually able to pull away late in the second half to take the 71-58 win. The Lady Pilots opened up the game with a strong 8-0 run; however, experienced inconsistent shooting the rest of the night which disallowed them from putting the game out of reach. As a result, Spring Arbor came back and would erase a five point half-time deficit and tie the game at 45-45 with ten minutes remaining in the game. Bethel looked to defensive specialists Ashlee Ort and Alyssa Toupin, who used their speed late in the second half to score a combined 26 points. Laura Johnson continued to be a deep threat, hitting 3-8 three-pointers and scoring a total of 16 points, while Ort contributed 16 as well off the bench. Kristin Hicks also led by example as she scored 13 points and collected seven rebounds. The defense for Bethel was clearly the difference in the game as they forced 29 turnovers and only gave up 15. The Lady Pilots will play next Nov. 30, when they host Goshen College. Goshen is 0-1 in the MCC after falling to Taylor 63-44.