BROOKVILLE – The difference in the two halves was astonishing. 
Bethel’s girls’ basketball team looked to pull an upset in the Division Four sectional tournament, battling fourth-seed Franklin-Monroe.  After watching the Lady Jets build a 28-point halftime lead, Bethel fought back with a strong second half, only to fall to FM 56-39.  With the loss, the Bees end the season 3-18 overall, 1-11 in the Cross County Conference.

“I thought we came out in the second half, and played with them well in the third quarter, and they had their regulars in there playing full speed,” Bethel coach Ed Quincel.  “We talked at halftime, that we play hard at times, and then we take breaks.  I asked them to come out and lay it all there in the third quarter until they had to come out.”
“I think the tempo of the game would have been different if we would have made some of those layups we missed in the first quarter. It changes the entire outlook for the entire game.”
It didn’t take long for the Jets to set the tempo of the opening half.  Eight quick points for Monica Heckman sent the Jets out to a quick 10-2 lead before Mercedes Nelson broke the string with a layup for the Lady Bees.
Nelson stopped another run with a score after it was 16-4, then the Lady Jets ended the quarter with six consecutive points, the last four from Brandi Fourman, and FM was comfortably ahead 22-6 after one.
Fourman came back out in the second period and added to her game high 22 points, as the Lady Jets continued to pour it on.  Bethel was held to only three points in the second period, including one field goal from Shelby Black, as Franklin Monroe pushed their lead to 37-9 at the half.
Nelson and Casey Seale led the charge for the Lady Bees in the third period, as they started to play more competitively.  Bethel battled with the Jets regulars most of the period, and was outscored 19-16 in the quarter, with Seale scoring seven during the quarter, and Nelson five.
“It’s just getting into the rhythm,” Quincel said.  “Sometimes, they missed their first couple shots and it’s all in their head.  You need to keep your head in the game and keep playing.”
“We had those moments this year where we showed that we know what to do.  It was a learning process for us this year but the good thing, our underclassmen are already talking about what we are going to do this summer and next year.”
Nelson led the Bees with 12 points, while Seale added 10.