By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

I remember covering the high school state basketball tournament in the early 1990s and hearing folks from the Jackson media grouse that there weren't enough bodies to go around.

They had a ton of West Tennessee teams to track at the state tournament and the NAIA national women's basketball tournament going on at Jackson's Oman Arena. They Jackson media folk were scurrying to cover everything and it was a taxing time for them. I remember thinking I was glad I didn't have all that to worry about, too.

To me, the NAIA tournament was a rather obscure event because there were teams from Oklahoma, California, Texas and even Canada in the draw. It was very abstract to me. The NAIA tournament was something someone ELSE did, not anyone from around here.

Strange I was having those thoughts at the state tournament while covering teams I'd seen all year. When I was in high school, I used to think that the state tournament was something someone else did.

Wednesday morning, I was at Jackson's Oman Arena, witnessing something I never thought I'd see: Bethel's women playing in the Division 1 NAIA national tournament with national champions like Union, Lambuth, Vanguard, Oklahoma City. Having lived in McKenzie for the past 35 years and having worn the Bethel uniform, it was one of those goose-bump moments.

And BC acquitted itself well. It faced five-time national champ Oklahoma City, a veteran team that also plays in a tough conference. And the Lady Bison exhumed themselves from a 14-point pit to take a 74-72 victory. Was it heartbreaking? You bet it was. Was it one of those "what could have been" moments? Absolutely, especially when you consider that OKC just beat Vanguard Saturday to advance to the NAIA Final Four.

Oklahoma City coach Rob Edmisson knew his team would have its hands full when it faced Bethel.

"They were what we expected," he said. "We came in knowing it was going to be a battle because they play in one of the toughest conferences in the country and their quality of play is like ours; hats off to Bethel College."

Hats off indeed.

It's hard to come in as a first-timer (though Bethel did twice participate in the D-2 NAIA tournament) on such a grand stage, And this was a learning experience for the Lady Wildcats.

Bethel surged to a 14-point lead in the first half, held a 13-point halftime advantage and maintained a 10-point cushion for most of the second half. It was a wonderful 30 minutes for the Lady Wildcats, who frustrated OKC and benched Holly Hardin with four fouls.

Bethel controlled the tempo, attacked the basket, rebounded, pressed and made good decisions from the perimeter.

"That was the first time we've been pressured all year," said Edmisson. "Bethel had a very physical team and did a great job with their pressure."

Hardin returned to the game with 7:26 to play and Bethel seemed to lose some of its intensity. Instead of pushing the ball up the floor, it sort of walked the ball up and tried to control the clock. Bethel lost its edge.

"And that's my fault," said Bethel coach Chris Nelson, showing a lot of poise, class and accountability for one so young and in front of such a hot spotlight. "In the last five minutes we didn't push and we didn't run and jump as much. I should have let KB (Berry) pick her spots to run it and to walk it up."

It was not only a learning experience for the team, it was a learning experience for Nelson, too. He said he told his guard, Kashundria Berry, to slow things down. Bethel slowed, OKC didn't and nibbled away at the lead. In the final eight minutes, OKC outscored Bethel 24-11. With :58 left in the game, Hardin scored to tie the game and Bethel suddenly decided to try from the perimeter...and the arch wasn't kind.

You can bet that Nelson won't let that happen again. He's a good coach who exudes intensity and is probably, as you read this, replaying the last quarter of the game in his mind and thinking about what he'd do different. Again, it was a learning experience for him as well.

Breezy Martin scored with :24 to play and pushed OKC in front for good, 74-72. Joanna Ortiz had an open look on the baseline, but it hit off the back iron and fell harmlessly to the ground. Bethel's experience lasted just 40 minutes on the raised floor of Oman Arena.

But Bethel proved it belonged with the lead actors on the grand stage. OKC is 40 minutes from playing for its sixth national crown. But the Lady Wildcats and its coaches needed to sample the product that is the national tournament.

"The biggest thing is the experience; we only were here two days, but you don't feel it until you are really here," said Nelson. "They wanted to stay more and our kids were confident.

"It's a testament to the girls because they set a goal to get here and wanted to farther," Nelson said.

Bethel loses seniors Jelena Budimir and Jenna Roney, but returns everyone else and have a some freshman recruits who could play immediately next year.

BC had a national semifinalist on the ropes and worried. This team has had a taste. This team has faced the live bullets. The national tournament isn't just something other teams do. Bethel is doing it, too, and doing it well. And rest assured, the Lady Wildcats will be back again next year and will be packing heavier suitcases. They better leave a bag empty though.

Bethel just may need some place to store a trophy for a return to the Baker Fieldhouse.