BETHANY — The eighth-ranked Bethany Lady Bronchos rallied in the fourth quarter for a 61-53 win over 15th-ranked Weatherford Tuesday (Feb. 11) in a Western Athletic Conference contest.

For three quarters, the Lady Eagles (13-10, 5-5) torched Bethany from outside the arc with twelve 3-pointers.

Bethany coach Eric Sailer tried moving from a man-defense to a couple of zone defenses to slow down the barrage.

Weatherford senior Marley Teasley sank a half-court heave at the buzzer to end the third quarter and Bethany trailed by nine points, 47-38.

Sailer had a plea for his team going into the final quarter.

“I said “the only way that you’re gonna get back in this is that defensively you frustrate them, you make their lives miserable,” Sailer said. “We did a much better job.”

In the Lady Eagles first possession of the fourth quarter, the increased defensive intensity led to a wild shot from Weatherford senior Braelee Epp that went out of bounds.

Bethany (16-5, 8-3) answered with a bucket from senior Kayten Donley and the comeback had begun.

Donley had four points in the first half. The Oral Roberts signee scored nine in the fourth quarter for a 20-point game. Donley also grabbed 11 rebounds and had four steals.

Bethany tied the game at 48-48 with 5:01 on a bucket from sophomore Ali Linn, cutting to the basket after a Weatherford turnover.

Linn gave the Lady Bronchos the lead at 4:29 by sinking a 3-pointer to make it 51-48. She drove the baseline for another score with :54 left to extend the lead to 57-50.

Linn had 14 points and and twelve rebounds.

“That’s something that we know that she’s capable of doing on a nightly basis,” Sailer said of Linn’s performance. “She hasn’t really shown that, but I feel like this is the time to start that.”

Weatherford’s Teasley had one more 3-pointer up her sleeve to make it 59-53 but it was with :17 left in the game.

Bethany sophomore Camryn Regier led Bethany with 22 points (11 points in each half). Regier was 8-of-13 from the field. She also had seven rebounds and three assists.

Sailer said it was important to win on Senior Night for his team.

“Those four seniors that we have, Kayten (Donley), (Lauren) Koonce, Keziah (Lofton) and Talia (Vann), I would really hate for them to leave senior night with a loss,” Sailer said. “But, the girls all rallied around and found a way to have success so that they could be successful with their final regular season home game.”

Weatherford hit 13-of-32 (41 percent) from beyond the arc. Teasley finished with 22 points.

Bethany shot 41 percent for the game. The Lady Bronchos outrebounded Weatherford, 38-15.

FAMILIAR FACES MAY RETURN

As the playoffs loom, Bethany may see the return of Keziah Lofton and Talia Vann to the lineup.

Lofton, the Oklahoma signee, has been recovering from a leg injury. Sailer said they were being careful with getting her back on the floor.

“We just want make sure that she’s able to go out and have contact, because the last thing that you would want is for her to go back out there and her to break her leg again,” Sailer said.

Fellow senior Talia Vann left the school to play at Grind Prep in the offseason but re-enrolled at Bethany Feb. 4, Sailer said. With Grind now serving as an athletic program only and Vann attending virtual classes through Epic Charter School, she would be become eligible just before the Lady Bronchos begin the playoffs.

Vann is also waiting on a medical release due to an eye issue.

“They they impact the game in in numerous ways,” Sailer said.

UP NEXT

The Lady Bronchos travel to Ardmore (13-7) Friday (Feb. 14) at 6:30 p.m.

The Lady Tigers lost to Bishop McGuinness, 63-61, in overtime Tuesday.

“It’s going to be tough, because they’re playing really well. “We’ll need to make sure that we’re taking care of the ball. not giving into their defensive pressure and we gotta hit outside shots,” Sailer said.

Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.

	1	2	3	4	F
Weatherford (13-10, 5-5)	12	14	21	6	53
Bethany (16-5, 8-3)	13	9	16	23	61