Lady Coyotes drop third straight with 68-56 loss to Bethel
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

NORTH NEWTON – This time they didn’t give up a halftime lead, but the result was still the same as the Lady Coyotes dropped their third straight, with a 68-56 loss to Bethel on Thursday night at Thresher Gym. Bethel picked up their first KCAC win of the season after a 0-6 start in conference play.

The Lady Coyotes started out the first half with a 5-0 lead thanks to Charressa Gray, as she scored all five Wesleyan points to start. Bethel got back within two at the 17:41 mark in the first half on a three-point play by Hannah Blackburn.

The big story of the first half was Bethel’s impressive shooting display, they nearly didn’t miss in the first half. Connecting on eight if their first 12, the Threshers stayed close with the Coyotes, and took their first lead at the 9:43 mark on a three by Bailey Swiercinsky. Bethel shot 11-of-21 from the field for 53.4 percent in the first 20 minutes.

The lead was short lived for the Threshers, as Tierra Baldwin and Ascendra Peters gave Wesleyan a two-point lead at 21-19 with 7:34 left. The Coyotes would let Bethel tie, but would not surrender the lead until the 5:56 mark on a pair of Samantha Naylor free throws. Another Blackburn basket would put Bethel  up four with 5:18 left, before a Sarah Montoya three got the Coyotes within one at 27-26 with 5:03 left.

That’s when bad news hit again. Kaylaen Dittmer drove to the hole and was fouled hard by Brandi Peterie-Shipman. Dittmer got hit in the nose, and had to leave the game with blood. Khristy Santee would enter and hit one of two free throws tying things up with 4:30 left.

Both teams would combine for only four points the rest of the half as Bethel took a 30-28 lead into the half.

Dittmer would return to start the second half for the Coyotes, but the Coyotes could not regain the lead. Wesleyan tied things up at 35-all on a bucket by Sarah Montoya with 14:43 left, but a 16-2 Bethel run gave the Threshers a 51-37 lead with 10:09 left.

Wesleyan (5-12, 1-6) would get within 10 at 56-46 with 6:14 left on a pair of Dixon free throws, but Bethel quickly went back up by 13 at 59-46 on a three point play by Naylor. The Coyotes made a 5-0 run, on a three and a put back by Dixon to get as close as eight with 3:24 left, but the Threshers answered with a 7-0 to take their biggest lead of the night at 66-51 with 1:08 left, and hold on for the 68-56 win.

The Coyotes were led by Peters and Dixon with 13 each, while Gray added 10 as Wesleyan shot 19-of-55 from the field for 34.5 percent. Peters inched closer to another KWU record, as she remains only three free throws away from the Coyotes’ all-time career record of 285 set by Jill Rietzke in 1979. Peters led the Coyotes with eight rebounds while Dittmer added seven.

Bethel (4-12, 1-6) was led by Blackburn’s 18, while Peterie-Shipman added 16. Dana Rathbun would led the Threshers on the boards with eight while Naylor had six. Bethel shot 23-of-48 from the field for 47.9 percent.

The Coyotes head back home for the first of three straight at Muir Gym on Saturday against McPherson.

-- KWU SI --