Zero to 100 Really Quickly: Lady Jackets Make it 10 Straight in Win No. 20

Coaches, cheerleaders, players, and fans all wore the same color Thursday evening, and the Lady Jackets were “tickled pink” as they crossed the century mark for the first time this season in their 101-72 win over the Alderson Broaddus Battlers. It was the Jackets’ tenth win in a row, who stand at 20-2 as they seek their first ever spot in USA Today’s Division II Top 25 poll.

Alderson Broaddus tried to surprise the Lady Jackets with an up-tempo pressing defense, but the first half was all about Jacket’s point guard Raegan Ryan. The senior guard showed out in the first half, hitting a collection of shots. Ryan was instrumental in breaking the Battler’s press, and had 17 points at half to go with three assists and two steals.

Following suit in scoring was Regina Hochstetler, who had 11 first-half points on 4-5 shooting.

Cedarville forwards Kayla Linkous and Emily Williams also were strong in the first half. Linkous had seven points, while Williams scored five, and each girl grabbed five rebounds. Overall the team shot a blistering 70 percent from the field, around three times better than the Battlers’ 23 percent, and went into the locker room leading 55-26.

In the second half, Alderson Broaddus tried to keep the up-tempo pace. The Battlers hoisted up 43 three-pointers. Guard Sydney Shaffer hit four threes and finished with 11 points before going out with a sprained ankle.

Linkous and Williams however proved to be too much for the Battlers down the stretch. Linkous made eight of her nine shots, finishing with seventeen points and nine rebounds, one board short of a double-double. Williams was also efficient, scoring 12 points without missing a shot and grabbing eight rebounds.

Cedarville had five players score in double figures, led by Raegan Ryan’s 22. Hochstetler and fellow freshman Abby Wolford scored 17 and 11, respectively.

As a team, Cedarville shot 63 percent from the field, compared to Alderson Broaddus’ 32 percent. The Jackets also out-rebounded the Battlers 42-32.

With the 101-72 win, head coach Kirk Martin gets his tenth 20-win season with the Lady Jackets.

Everyone involved in Thursday’s game was out to show support for the fight against cancer. The show of pink apparel was in honor of the 2015 “Play 4 Kay” initiative, a national high school and collegiate initiative that honors the memory of Coach Kay Yow and raises money to fight cancer.

Yow, former women’s basketball coach at North Carolina State University, lost her battle with cancer in 2009. This “Play for Kay” game has been held at Cedarville for the past few years.

This tenth straight win puts Cedarville close to a top-25 ranking in Division II women’s basketball. They will play again at home this Saturday, 2 p.m., against 10-8 conference opponent Davis & Elkins.

Dave Guidone is a junior social studies education major and sports reporter for Cedars. His hobbies include eating, snacking, shooting hoops and laughing. Hebrews 13:8.