Lady Jackets Snag a Well-Rounded Win Over Salem

By Abigail Hintz

The Cedarville Lady Jackets move to 4-1 on the season after a solid 81-59 victory over the Salem University Tigers. Coming off of a big road victory over the University of Indianapolis, the Jackets looked comfortable at home in the non-conference matchup.

Salem came into Wednesday’s game averaging 92.3 points per game, compared to Cedarville’s 74. Despite showing impressive numbers, they now have a record of 1-4 after being dominated by the Jackets.

Cedarville was led by senior Stevie Johnting with 11 points and four rebounds, followed by sophomore Emily Chapman with 10 points. Sophomore Alli Roh and freshman Ise Bolender contributed nine points a piece.

All eligible players made an appearance for the Jackets, and everyone got on the board.

Head coach Kari Hoffman said her team should be very satisfied with the win.

“I just thought it was a really good team effort. I loved being able to get everybody in in a lot of pivotal minutes. Everybody played great from top to bottom,” said Hoffman.

“We played great as a team,” said Johnting. “I thought we shared the ball well, we had 21 assists so that’s great.”

The Tigers were outshot by the Jackets 68-48 with the Jackets continuing their 3-point dominance with 12-40 from deep. 

The Jackets came out showing up the Tigers in technicality. Salem created 8 turnovers in the first five minutes, helping Cedarville go up 13-6 early. The Jackets were making shots and staying sharp on defense. They were able to shut down Nia Bishop of the Tigers in the first quarter, who averages 21 points a game. She finished with 18. The Tigers began pushing and making shots at the end of the quarter, but the Jackets didn’t relax and stayed up 20-12 at the end of the first.

The Jackets pushed their lead up to 31-18 halfway through the second quarter, relying heavily on sophomore Emily Chapman who dropped ten points in the first 13 minutes of the game, but was shut down the rest of the game due in part to lineup changes. The Salem offense became more cohesive during the second quarter, but Cedarville’s defense was holding strong.

The game began to settle late in the second quarter, with both teams dropping shots. Cedarville shot 33.3 percent and 27.3 from the field in the second quarter compared to 35 and 38.5 in the first, respectively. Wolford put down a three to take the Jackets into the locker room 40-24.

The Jackets were dominating on three-pointers, going 8-24, while Salem had half those shots and only two converted. The Tigers were 0-6 from deep in the second quarter, while Cedarville was 3-11. 

The Jackets went on a 10-2 run in the first five minutes of the third quarter, breaking 50 points before the media timeout. They didn’t let up, overtaking the Tigers 64-36 before the end of the quarter. Freshman Isabelle Bolender stepped up, taking her point total to nine. Freshman Abby Freeman also saw playing time and contributed six points. Senior Anna DeFillipo also saw the court, putting up two points and one rebound.

Salem won the last quarter 23-17, capitalizing on Cedarville’s inexperienced lineup. It wasn’t enough to close the gap, however, and the Jackets took the win 81-59.

The Lady Jackets now turn their attention to Tuesday when they travel to Columbus to take on Saginaw Valley State on Tuesday and Northwood on Wednesday for the last non-conference games before a four-game G-MAC stretch.

Abigail Hintz is a sophomore journalism major and Digital Editor for Cedars. She loves reading, playing Spikeball with her friends and watching soccer 24/7.