Recap: Bethany Christian Bruins vs. Prairie Heights Panthers
The Bethany Christian Bruins put another one in the bag on Thursday to keep their perfect season alive. They blew past Prairie Heights 60-34. Given Bethany Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while Prairie Heights is ranked 225th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bethany Christian had a senior duo take command as Mariah Stoltzfus scored 11 points along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds and Zoe Willems dropped a double-double on 14 points and 10 rebounds. The game was Willems' seventh in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Ellie Morris, who scored 13 points.
When it comes to explaining why Prairie Heights lost, one person who can't be blamed is Sarah Park. Despite the final result, she scored 11 points. Park scored a full 32.4% of Prairie Heights' points, the second time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Emily McCrea was another key contributor, scoring 6 points.
Prairie Heights struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only three offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Bethany Christian pulled down 13.
Bethany Christian's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.8 points per game. As for Prairie Heights, they now have a losing record at 3-4.
Bethany Christian's homestand continues as they prepare to take on Oregon-Davis at 6:00 p.m. on December 7th. As for Prairie Heights, they will head out on the road to face off against Fairfield at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Fairfield is coming into the match hot, having won their last three games.
