JACKSON, Tenn. –
Payton Brown scored a career-high 21 points and
Morgan Bennett logged 18 points and a career-best 14 rebounds to lead No. 5 Wayland Baptist to a 76-68 overtime win over 16
th-ranked Bethel, Tenn., in the first round of the NAIA Women's Basketball Invitational here Friday night.
"Any win you can get on the road, especially in a tournament like this against the 16
th-ranked team in the nation, is positive," Wayland coach
Alesha Ellis said.
Wayland is one of 10 ranked teams in the two-day classic, which features top-ranked Freed-Hardeman, which Wayland plays next.
"(In this tournament) you get into some thick competition and get to see what your team is made of. Tonight I felt like we answered that question well, especially coming off the loss to Oklahoma City. I thought our kids responded well," said Ellis, whose Queens suffered a 76-40 setback to third-ranked OCU on Saturday.
The Queens (5-2) and Wildcats (6-3) were tied at 62 after regulation, then Wayland outscored Bethel in the five-minute extra period, 14-6.
The Flying Queens scored the first eight points of overtime, six by Brown as she hit a 3-pointer some nine seconds into extra time then added three straight free throws. The Wildcats then scored six straight points to pull within two, but Bethel wouldn't score again.
Wayland, meanwhile, went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute, with Brown, Bennett and
Kaylee Edgemon, who ended with 14 points, netting two foul shots each.
The Flying Queens hit 27-of-34 free throws (79 percent). Bethel went 15-of-21 from the stripe. Brown made all nine of her free throws while Bennett went 7-for-9, Edgemon 6-for-8 and
Kambrey Blakey 4-for-4.
The 21 points were a career-high for the sophomore Brown, surpassing her previous best of 17.
It was the first double-double of the season for Bennett and eighth of the senior all-American's career.
Ellis said she was happy with the mentality of both Brown and Bennett.
"That mentality is what we're going to have to have if we're going to win big games. We got some big plays out of those two," the coach said.
Wayland led by five after the first quarter, trailed by one at the half, and led by five after the third period. The lead changes hands four times in the fourth.
"We would go on a run, they would go on a run… Players on both teams were making big plays," Ellis said. "I'm proud of them for getting the job done."
The Flying Queens scored their final points of regulation, a bucket by
Jenna Cooper, to take a 62-60 lead with 2:39 left. The Wildcats tied it with a pair of free throws with 44 seconds to go.
After blocking a WBU shot, Bethel had a chance to win it. The Wildcats called timeout with 14 seconds to go, then Tasia Jones missed a shot at the buzzer, the ball hitting the front of the rim and bouncing out.
"It was scary," Ellis said.
Bethel, whose previous losses were to No. 2 Campbellsville, Ky., 54-41, and No. 24 Loyola, La., 61-49, was led by Mickey Head with 17 points, Tyasia Willis with 16 and Morgan Martin with 15.
Wayland's win came on the heels of a 76-40 loss to third-ranked Oklahoma City University on Saturday. Bennett bounced back after being held scoreless by the Stars for just the second time since her sophomore season.
It was Bennett's freshman season, 2016-17, when Wayland and Bethel last met. The Wildcats won that opening-round contest in the NAIA National Championships, 70-57.
The Flying Queens now get a shot at knocking off No. 1 Freed-Hardeman (4-1), which was locked in a battle with No. 13 Talladega, Ala., on Friday night.
"They have a lot of weapons," Ellis said of Freed-Hardeman, whose only loss was on the road against Bethel, 52-50, in the second game of the season
