ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich.— With the New Year just hours away, the Bethel Pilots (7-6, 1-3) ended 2024 with a road non-conference win over Wolverine-Hoosier opponent Rochester Christian (3-11, 2-4) 68-58 to improve to 6-3 against non-conference opponents.
Olivia Nickerson grew to eight games with 10 or more points this season after dropping 14 on 4-12 shooting from the field and 4-11 from downtown. The freshman guard also tallied five assists and four rebounds.
Fellow freshman Justyce Williams totaled 11 points from 5-7 shooting (71%) with a pair of rebounds and assists and junior Mariah Claywell scored 10 points with six boards while firing 4-8 from the floor.
Caroline Morris secured a team-leading 12 rebounds, two short of her season-high, with four points.
The Pilots started behind in the early minutes, down 9-4 at 7:07 in the first, but stormed back. Williams ended the run with a jumper at 6:25, followed by Nickerson’s triple at 5:06 to tie the game 9-9.
Isabel Scales gave the Pilots the lead with a fast break layup at 5:06, then split a pair at the line with 4:33 to go up 12-9. The quarter ended with Nickerson’s deep ball at 1:36 to lead by seven, but the Warriors tipped in the final bucket of the quarter, 19-14 BU.
Rochester Christian tied the game at 2:26 in the second with a jumper, 27-27, and would retain the lead into halftime 30-29.
The Pilots found a groove in the third with a 9-0 run sparked by senior Faith Davis’ triple at 3:19 and ended with Williams’ jumper with four seconds left in the quarter 48-35.
The fourth was a consistent battle that hovered around a 10-point Pilot lead that ended with Nickerson’s pair at the charity stripe to secure the 68-58 win over the Warriors 2-0 in the all-time series.
Bethel has a two-game win streak over the Warriors after their first meeting on Dec. 12, 2016, which was a close 60-59 win in the Gates Gymnasium.
The Pilots play their first game in 2025 back on the Crossroads League trail on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon Nazarene’s Ariel Arena.