Impressive Fourth Quarter Takes Lady Jackets to Fifth Straight Win

By Abigail Hintz

A late 18-point run took the Lady Jackets (16-5, 9-3 G-MAC) to 74-57 Saturday afternoon after playing neck-and-neck with Alderson Broaddus (6-15, 3-9 G-MAC) for the first three quarters. The Jackets remain in fourth place in the G-MAC with the win. 

Head coach Kari Hoffman said, “You’ve got to give credit to Alderson Broaddus. They came in here and played us really tough. I was really proud of how we stayed with it. Their effort was there we just had a little lack of focus.”

The Jackets ended with three players in double digits, led by senior guard Abby Wolford with 14. The Indiana native shot 5-11 and 4-7 from deep. Freshman guard Paige Garr followed the senior with 12 points of her own shooting an impressive 4-5 triples. Freshman guard Isabelle Bolender also had another double digit performance with 11.

Ashlyn Huffman (#5) drives to the basket. The junior led the Jackets in assists with nine. [Photos by Lydia Wolterman]

Rebounding was a struggle for the Jackets. Alderson Broaddus out rebounded them 33-23. Cedarville’s defensive rebounding picked up in the fourth quarter, helping turn the game around for the team.

“That was definitely a grind,” said Huffman. “We find ways to pull stuff out, we find ways to win, we grit it out. And I was really proud of all our girls and how we did that.”

Both teams were sluggish to start, failing to score until sophomore forward Alli Roh put in a layup for the first points of the game nearly four minutes in. The Battlers promptly answered, making it just 2-2 almost halfway through the first quarter. The Jackets were not in the lead again for another three minutes when Chapman put in a layup and a triple back-to-back to put the team Jackets up 9-6. Garr followed it with a 3-pointer of her own, giving the Jackets a welcome six point cushion.

The second quarter was similar to the first. The Jackets seemed more comfortable but were still lacking their traditional sharpness. Eventually the Battlers capitalized on this and began to close the gap. They had truly gained momentum going into halftime, down by only four at 31-27. 

Wolford was lacking in production early, not scoring until just one and a half minutes before halftime despite having played 13 minutes throughout the game. Garr and Roh led at halftime with six points a piece.

The Battlers tied it up at 36 just three minutes into the second half. They took their first lead since the first quarter shortly after, up 39-38 over the Jackets. Garr made a big play for the Jackets in the third quarter, draining a risky 3-point shot from deep that brought them to a tie at 46. This sparked a short run from the Jackets, but the Battlers answered. The Jackets were only up 51-49 heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter started just as slow, but did not stay that way. The Jackets gained some serious momentum after a big 3-pointer from Wolford, assisted by Huffman, was followed by another from Garr, putting Cedarville up 64-53. This was their first comfortable lead since the second quarter. They continued pushing, going on what ended up being an 18-point run in just five minutes. Cedarville finished out the win 74-57.

The Lady Jackets now take a 12-day break before finishing out their five game homestand on Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. when they take on Malone University for the Play4Kay Pink Game.

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.