Lady Jackets Narrowly Escape Arrows To Keep Streak Alive

by Abigail Hintz

Though not the dominating performance Jackets fans have grown accustom to, the Lady Jackets were able to grind out their 14th straight victory over Ursuline College (6-7) 90-86. This was the two teams’ second meeting, the last one ending in Cedarville’s favor 85-75 back in early December.

Cedarville is now 14-1 and remains on top of the G-MAC standings. They are looking to be in good shape to take the conference regular season title and potentially host the final four of the conference championship in early March.

The Lady Jackets were led once again by sophomore Isabelle Bolender who contributed 18 points. Junior Emily Chapman added 17 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Senior Ashlyn Huffman also had another dominant day with 16 points and a team-high four assists. Junior Lexi Moore had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore Paige Garr also had nine points.

Ursuline pestered the Jackets early as Cedarville was unable to pull away despite never losing the lead. The Arrows tied it at 14 about halfway through the first quarter, but freshman Anne Wheeler quickly answered with a 3-pointer.

Bolender added to the momentum going on a five point run that extended the Jacket lead to 22-16. The Jackets managed to keep a small lead headed into the second quarter up 27-24 with Bolender contributing nine points.

The Jackets and the Arrows were locked in a battle. Both teams were performing well, but the Jackets seemed thrown off by the Arrows’ consistency. Their margin was larger in the second quarter overall, but they still were making errors that cost them points.

What was most greatly costing the Jackets was their inability to play from deep. Cedarville averages 11.5 3-pointers a game and heading into halftime they had only attempted 11 and put down two. Bolender was stalled by the Arrows in the second quarter and did not add any points. Huffman was more involved however, going up to 11 total points in the first half.

Chapman opened the scoring in the second half with two free throws thanks to a technical foul called on Ursuline, which she followed up with a 3-pointer — a promising sight for the Jackets’ offense. The Jackets were feeling the energy and junior Allison Mader capitalized on it adding five consecutive points of her own to put Cedarville up 52-38.

Ursuline was rolling late, but not enough to overtake the Jackets who were up 68-59 at the end of the quarter. Bolender had another seven points to make her the team-leader with 16 followed closely by Huffman with 14.

After a deep buzzer beater for Ursuline at the end of the third quarter, the Arrows were riding the momentum to start the fourth and went on a six point run, forcing a Cedarville timeout early. Two minutes in the two teams were tied for the first time since the first quarter at 70. Further shaking the Jackets the Arrows took the lead 74-73 with six and a half minutes to play.

Both teams were disjointed and scrappy as the Jackets fought to regain what they had. However, Chapman stepped up big time for the Jackets, contributing 12 points in the quarter that would ultimately make the difference for her team.

The Jackets were never able to hit consistent 3-pointers, though they were still able to top their season average in terms of scoring. They finished shooting 6-24 from deep — just over half of what they normally drain.

The Lady Jackets are back at home on Thursday, Feb. 4 for a 5:30 p.m. tip off against Ohio Valley who they defeated 77-49 just a week prior.

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