Strong Second Half Leads to Lady Jacket Victory

The Cedarville Lady Jackets ended the Malone Pioneers’ eight-game winning streak with a 73-61 win on Thursday evening. Baylee Bennett and Breanne Watterworth scored 20 points each in the game.

Regina Hochstetler also shot 10-10 from the charity stripe, and improved her chances of setting the school record for free throw percentage in a season. The junior now sits at 92 percent on the year, which is five percent better than the current record holder.

After a tough loss at Davis & Elkins, Cedarville bounced back thanks to some minor adjustments.

“I’m just really proud of this team,” head coach Kari Hoffman said. “We tried to regroup after a loss and tried to fix some small things. All the credit goes to the players.”

Coach Hoffman also said she was proud of the way the team rebounded and played defense.

The first quarter began as a back-and-forth affair, and neither team could find an edge. The game wasn’t separated by more than three points until Malone got hot late in the first. Thanks to an 11-4 run to close the quarter, the Pioneers took a 22-15 lead into the second.

Cedarville clawed its way back into the game throughout the second quarter, and cut the lead to three multiple times during the period. Hochstetler poured in eight points in the quarter, including four free throws in as many attempts.

Malone led 35-32 with under a minute left in the second, and after a solid string of possessions from the Lady Jackets, Malone was able to flip the momentum 180 degrees in its favor. A shot clock-beating two pointer extended the Pioneer lead to five.

On the ensuing possession, an ugly offensive set ended with a turnover by Bennett, which was converted to two free throws made for Malone. Malone took a 41-34 lead into the half.

The Lady Jackets burst the game wide open to start the third quarter, as they owned a 15-4 run to start the period. With 7:29 left in the third, Cedarville took its first lead of the game with a Breanne Watterworth lay in. The shot by Watterworth was part of a ten-point quarter for the junior.

Cedarville maintained its newfound lead to close the quarter, and led 56-52 with one quarter to play.

The Lady Jackets extended their lead to 10 with a two-pointer by Bennett off a Malone turnover. With 5:01 left in the fourth, Cedarville led 62-52.

Cedarville preserved its lead to close the game, and reserves entered the game late.

Cedarville (9-7, 3-2 GMAC) will host the Ursuline Arrows at home on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Arrows (12-5, 4-0 GMAC) have won seven straight games.

Tim Miller is a freshman journalism student at Cedarville University. Tim loves anything that has to do with sports, and hopes to write about sports for a career after graduating from Cedarville.

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