Lady Jackets Pour it on OVU for Eighth Straight Win

by Tim Miller

The Cedarville Lady Jackets (16-3, 11-2 G-MAC) thumped the Ohio Valley University Fighting Scots on Saturday afternoon, 96-64. The Lady Jackets never trailed in the game and kept their lead from the 5:39 mark in the first quarter to the end of the game.

Junior guard Regina Hochstetler tickled the twine to the tune of 25 points. Hochstetler shot 10-14 from the field and 5-8 from behind the 3-point line. Junior guard Baylee Bennett and senior forward each piled in 14 points. Buckley pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the team.

In the midst of playing five games in 10 days, head coach Kari Hoffman said it was rewarding to be able to coast to a victory.

“We had some fun out there,” Hoffman said. “I enjoyed seeing them smile while they’re out there playing.”

Cedarville’s offense was potent in the first, which allowed the Lady Jackets to jump to a 17-9 lead with 3:38 left in the first. The Fighting Scots were able to keep up for much of the quarter, scoring at a pace that was right behind Cedarville’s.

“We started off a little slow, but we picked up as the game got going,” Bennett said.

Cedarville closed the quarter with owning a 23-14 advantage. Hochstetler led the offensive attack with seven points on 3-5 shooting. The Lady Jackets shot at their usual high rate, finishing with 63 percent of their shots making it in the bucket.

Cedarville needed just one shot to reach its first double digit lead of the game in the second. With 9:23 remaining, Bennett splashed a triple that was assisted by freshman guard Ashlyn Huffman which allowed the Lady Jackets to take a 26-14 lead.

Bennett netted another triple that was assisted by Huffman yet again with 5:19 left. The shot allowed Cedarville to double up OVU and go up by 20, as the Yellow Jackets led 40-20.

The Fighting Scots went on an 8-0 run which caused Cedarville to call a timeout. With 3:21 left, the Lady Jackets held a 42-28 lead as each team’s offenses enjoyed hot shooting stretches.

The Lady Jackets continued to fight off OVU and owned a 52-30 lead at halftime. Hochstetler led all scorers with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, and Bennett added 11 points, three assists and three rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Cedarville shot 58 percent the field in the first half.

Cedarville shot 43 percent in the third quarter but still enjoyed a 75-50 margin with one quarter left to play. Hochstetler scored seven more points in the frame in just six minutes.

Cedarville featured its reserves for most of the final quarter and reached its largest lead (38 points) in final period.

“I’m really pleased with our win today,” Hoffman said. “I think we met every goal that we set for the game today.”

The Lady Jackets continue their grueling G-MAC stretch with a bout against Malone (7-10, 5-8 G-MAC) on Jan. 30. Cedarville took out the Pioneers at Malone early in the season, 78-70.

Tim Miller is a sophomore marketing major and sports editor for Cedars. He enjoys having a baby face, sipping Dunkin Donuts coffee and striving to be the optimal combination of Dwight Schrute and Ron Swanson.