Top-Seeded Wildcats Defeat Broncos, 78-70, in Round of 16

(Sioux City, IA) – Hastings put up a fight against #1-seed Bethel (TN), but the Wildcats ended the Broncos championship run with a 78-70 defeat. Bethel led most of the way and took control of the game with six free throws after Hastings led 43-42 in the second half.

Bethel took an early 4-0 lead, then junior Macy Bryant got Hastings on the board at the 6:29 mark with two free throws. Senior Kiernan Paulk knocked down a three but Bethel extended their lead to 10-5. Back-to-back threes by freshman Ann Bose got the Broncos within one at 12-11 and sophomore Bailey Kissinger tied it with a free throw off of a backcourt steal at the 3:36 mark.

Trailing 16-13, junior Mariyah Avila knocked down a 15-foot pullup, but the Wildcats took a 19-15 lead after one quarter, holding Hastings to 18 percent shooting, while shooting 41 percent themselves. The Broncos forced six turnovers to keep the game within four.

The first seven points of the second quarter went to Bethel to go up 26-15. Paulk drilled a three and Bryant made two from the line, but two Wildcat threes pushed the lead to 12 at the 5:50 mark. Sophomore Rachel Goodon laid one up and in and after a stop defensively, Bryant scored and drew a foul. She missed the free throw, but Goodon secured the offensive rebound and Bryant eventually hit a triple to complete a five-point possession and get back within five.

Trailing 33-27, Paulk drove across the lane and scooped in a layup with 3:32 left in the half. Later in the half, freshman Jentri Marx forced a steal off of the press and split a pair at the line. Bethel went up seven with 1:38 left, but Kissinger drove the lane and scored inside to get it back to five. The Wildcats made two free throws right before half to take a 39-32 lead at the break.

Hastings was held to 25 percent shooting in the first half, but stayed close by making 5-11 from deep. Bethel shot 38 percent from the field and outrebounded the Broncos, 30-24, through the first 20 minutes. Bryant led Hastings with 10 points, making 5-7 free throws.

Bryant answered a Wildcat two with a three-pointer and freshman McKenna Yates got on the board with a floater coming off an offensive rebound to make it 41-37 a minute into the half. Down five, Yates and sophomore Tathis Arredondo splashed in a threes to get their first lead at 43-42 with 7:55 left in the third to conclude the 11-3 run. 

Bethel retook the lead with six consecutive, going up 48-43, with 5:45 left. Bose drove the lane scored inside, but Bethel extended the lead back to six at the 1:25 mark on a three. Yates got one to go down low and Hastings forced a steal with Goodon converting to get within two. The Wildcats ended the third quarter with two baskets to go up 55-49.

The fourth quarter scoring began with Bryant banking a shot in off of an out of bounds play, then Avila found a sprinting Yates in-stride for a layup plus the foul to make it 55-54 after the free throw. A Bethel triple and three-point play pushed the lead back to seven before Bose's layup brought it back to five with 6:31 left.

Yates forced a backcourt turnover and scored an easy layup, then after a couple of Wildcat free throws, Bethel went up 65-58 with a mid-range jumper. Paulk cut the lead back to five with a driving layup with 3:22 left. With the deficit at six, Bethel continued to be aggressive, scoring twice off the defensive pressure to go up 10.

Goodon scored inside at the 2:13 mark to trim it to eight. Hastings forced a turnover in the backcourt but were unable to hit from three and the Wildcats went down and scored at the other end. Down 11, Avila knocked down a triple to make it 73-65 with 1:25 to go. Following a Bethel turnover, Bryant drilled another from deep at the one-minute mark to get within five.

Bethel missed two at the line after a Bronco foul and after a couple of Wildcat fouls, Kissinger drove across the lane and scored amongst the trees. Bethel was fouled and split a pair at the line to go up four with 38 seconds. Yates misfired on a corner three on their next possession and Bethel went up 76-70 with 23 seconds left, as they held on to win 78-70.

Both teams shot below 40 percent from three and while Hastings forced 19 turnovers, they scored just two points off of them. Bethel won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Hastings 55-49.

Bryant led the team with 18 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Yates ended with 12 points and six rebounds, while Bose had 10 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Paulk chipped in off the bench with 10 points and four rebounds, while Kissinger led the team in rebounds with seven, along with five points and five assists.

Hastings ends their season with a 25-8 record, going 17-5 in the GPAC to finish fourth in the conference.