This past season the Bethel University women’s basketball team found themselves in unfamiliar territory. The Lady Cats finished 12-13 overall and 6-10 in the Mid-South Conference. With that mark they were 7^th in the MSC regular season standings and finished the campaign falling short in the second round of the conference tournament.

Coming into this season, the squad is returning two key seniors in Mickey Head and Millie Bryant. The 6’1 Head is a shot blocker and legit low post scorer with the ability to play any position on the floor. The Clarksville, Tennessee native averaged 13 ppg and led the MSC with 61 blocks. Millie Bryant turned into a true scoring guard last season and the backbone of the team. The 5’8 shooting guard averaged 12 ppg and collected 5.1 rpg. Both players are expected to provide valuable experience this year.

The Cats have the makings of a team that although they struggled through patches last season and missed out on the NAIA national tournament, they do have star power, an excellent supporting cast, and a recruiting class that can make a deep run in March. Ashton Hulme, Madison Henegar, Ryan Roberts, and Rachel Childress are a few names of key veterans to keep an eye on throughout the season.

Bethel added six new faces to the roster, and all are expected to make an immediate impact. Even though they are new faces, the recruiting class is not as young as it seems. That is due to two key transfers in Lauren Carmona and Keely Marrow. Carmona is a 6’0 forward from Santa Fe Community College. She averaged 8.1 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Marrow is a graduate transfer who has two years of eligibility. While at Lipscomb University she averaged 6.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg.  Kaylynn Howard will be a true freshman and looks to be the starting point guard for the Lady Wildcats. Howard had a stellar career at Covington High School, leading her team to the state tournament while averaging 14 ppg her final two years as a Charger. Also in the mix is Lauren Vann, another freshman from The Webb school where she won a state championship. She will bring athleticism and provide depth off the bench.

Coach Chris Nelson states, “We are extremely excited about this upcoming season with the schedule and roster we have put together. Obviously, the Mid-South Conference is tough from top to bottom with great players and great coaches, but with our returning pieces and new faces we hope to find ourselves in the top half of the league. Our non-conference schedule is always challenging as we will see ranked opponents from a variety of leagues with different styles of play.”