ARCANUM – After enduring a rough two-win season to date, the Bethel girls basketball team could have used a break, as they headed to Arcanum for a conference tilt against the winless Arcanum Trojans.
Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse.

Playing without three key players, including two of them to illness, the Lady Bees fell just short of the win last Thursday, falling to Arcanum 33-32.
“The effort was there the whole game,” said Bethel coach Ed Quincel.  “They got down and never gave up.  We had a lot of inexperience on the floor today, but they really played a hard game.”
Both Krista Burchett and Casey Seale missed the game due to illness, meaning more minutes for the regulars.  
Neither team could muster much offense in the opening period, as the teams were tied at 4-4 with 1:15 left.  Bethel locked down their defense in the final minute, and when Katelyn Cripps and Shelby Black each hit shots in the final 60 seconds, the Lady Bees took a slim 8-4 lead into the second period.
Arcanum came back and rolled off eight consecutive points to open the second quarter, as four different players scored for the Trojans.  After going six minutes without a point, the Lady Bees finally broke the ice when Black hit a 10-footer, and Cripps added a pair of free throws to tie the game at 12 late in the half.
Cripps came back with another layup trying to give Bethel the lead before the half, but the Trojans went into the intermission with the lead on a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half.
“We had two freshman start tonight, and a different lineup, and it was something we couldn’t prepare for,” Quincel said.  “We had people in different positions tonight.”
One player who stepped up her scoring for the Lady Bees was Cripps, who led the Lady Bees with 17 points.
“Her and Mercedes (Nelson) stepped up for us tonight,” Quincel said.  “They did a good job leading us tonight.”
Arcanum took a four point lead into the final period, and stretched it out to 27-21 with 6:21 left, but again, the Lady Bees didn’t give up.  
Nelson and Emily Mongaraz each hit jumpers to close the game to 27-25, and Cripps finished a 6-0 Bethel run with a drive in the lane, tying the game with 4:49 remaining in the game.
Two more ties sent the game into the final minute tied, before Arcanum sunk one free throw after driving to the basket with less than three seconds left.  Bethel didn’t get a final shot off and fell by one.
The Lady Bees return to action Thursday, Feb. 3 hosting Bradford at 7 p.m.