FORT WAYNE, Ind. — It was a tough night in perimeter defense for the Pilots as they traveled to Fort Wayne to take on the Saint Francis Cougars of Indiana Wednesday night. The Cougars shot 44% on 25 attempts from beyond the arc, which helped them build their lead in the first quarter.
The Pilots got a crucial stop in the final seconds of the first quarter while being down 14-11 but turned the ball over for Saint Francis to drain a deep ball to go into the second quarter up 17-11.
The Cougars jumped to a 14-2 lead in the second while putting good defense on the Pilot attack, keeping them to only one bucket by Nyla Asad at 4:44.
The Pilots shot 36% from the floor and made six three-pointers, three of them off the hand of Maiah Shelton, who was held to no points in the first half but scored all of her nine points throughout the second half.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Abby Williams grabbed a season-high eight rebounds; her career-high is 11. Her last set was in the 2022-23 season against Holy Cross (Ind.) on Nov. 3, 2022.
The Pilots turned the ball over 11 times but forced nine, which resulted in eight points.
Bethel was outrebounded 38-26 and only capitalized on four points.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots return home on Saturday, Jan. 6, to host the Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene, with the opening tip set for 1 p.m. in the Gates Gymnasium.