The Lady Jackets fought hard against their conference-rival Ursuline Saturday afternoon, but came up just short in the final seconds in a 70-68 loss.
Cedarville (9-8) had the ball with 21 seconds left down one point, but couldn’t make the go-ahead basket.
Baylee Bennett lead the Jackets’ scoring with 29 points and shot 7-11 from the three-point line. Kaitlyn Holm added 14 points and eight rebounds. Taylor Buckley also added five points and ten rebounds off the bench. Cedarville outscored Ursuline’s bench 15-0, but Ursuline got great production form their starting five and scored 25 points off turnovers to help aid its victory.
Cedarville head coach Kari Hoffman said she was proud of the effort her team put out.
“I’m really, really, really proud of my girls,” Hoffman said. “They played their hearts out. You could tell they were dog tired out there. But they gave it their all.”
Hoffman said they were right where they wanted to be at the end of the game, but gave Ursuline credit for making the plays late.
“We had the ball with 21 seconds to go down one and right where we wanted to be,” Hoffman said. “But they played good defense and we couldn’t get our hands on the ball. Give them credit. But we are getting better and i’m really, really pleased with my team.”
Ursuline began building a lead midway through the first quarter, leading 15-7. Cedarville was able to fight its way back in the game by the end of the quarter and were only down 18-16.
The Lady Jackets were able to gain the lead early in the second quarter 21-20. Both teams stayed neck and neck until halftime. Cedarville ended the half up 32-31.
Cedarville outshot Ursuline in the first half 44.4 percent to 35.7 percent. Bennett lead the Lady Jackets in scoring with 15 first half points. Breanne Watterworth also added four points, two steals, and two blocks.
Cedarville grew its lead in the beginning of the third quarter. Bennett scored six of her team’s first 10 points to give Cedarville a 42-35 lead with five and a half minutes left in the quarter.
Then Cedarville went cold and Ursuline took advantage. Ursuline went on a 13-0 run to go up 48-42 with one minute and 48 seconds left. Watterworth was able to break the run with a two-point basket with under a minute left to cut the lead 48-44. Ursuline ended the quarter up 50-46.
Both teams fought hard in the fourth quarter. Holm made a three at the beginning of the quarter to start things off.
Ursuline began to break away once again, capitalizing off Cedarville’s turnovers and mistakes. They lead 64-56 with 4:55 left.
Cedarville got back in the game once again. The Lady Jackets turned a couple fast breaks into points and Bennett hit a three to cut Ursuline’s lead 66-64. Then Buckley put the Jackets in the lead 67-66 with a layup and converted on an and-one opportunity.
Both teams traded a couple baskets in the final minutes. Ursuline lead 69-68 with twenty-one seconds to go. Cedarville had the ball and struggled to find a shot opportunity and called a timeout. They came out of the timeout with a drive, but failed to convert the basket.
After fouling Ursuline, the Arrows made one of their two shots to win 70-68.
The Jackets’ next game will be Wednesday, January 25, at Bluefield State.
Josh Burris is a senior journalism major and the sports editor for Cedars. He is interested in sports broadcasting and reporting. He enjoys watching sports, lifting, and listening to rock and rap music.
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