Cedarville was unable to get into an offensive rhythm Saturday night, trailing the entire time in a 73-62 loss to Ursuline in head coach Kirk Martin’s last regular-season home game.
In the third quarter, the Jackets tied the score at 45 with a Kaitlyn Holm 3-pointer. That was the closest they got.
“We could never get the significant over-the-hump basket, and they did,” Martin said.
The Arrows outscored the home team, 21-13, in the final quarter, to win the game and place themselves in the driver’s seat for the conference title.
“Every time we needed a stop we couldn’t get it in that fourth quarter,” Martin said.
On the Jackets’ first possession, they got four offensive rebounds but were unable to capitalize on any of them. This would be a sign of things to come.
The visitors jumped out to an 8-0 lead as Cedarville missed its first 11 shots. The Jackets were finally able to put some points together, led by Holm, who provided a spark off the bench with four quick points. The first quarter ended with Ursuline on top, 20-13.
Martin gave a lot of credit to the Arrows for coming out of Cedarville with the win.
“Ursuline is a very, very good team,” he said. “When you come into that place and that atmosphere and beat us like that, they’re a very good team, and the credit needs to go there.”
The Arrows were led by sophomore forward Laney Lewis, who had a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Erica Huber added 16 points and went 10-11 from the free throw line.
Sophomore guard Abby Wolford led the home team with 14 points, but on 4-of-18 shooting. As a team, the Lady Jackets shot 32 percent from the field, while Ursuline shot 48 percent. The visitors also shot 29 free throws, nearly three times as many as Cedarville’s 11.
A crowd of over 1,900 showed up, the fourth-largest attendance for a women’s game in school history. Martin said he appreciated the support from the students.
“Our student body showed up, we made it a great atmosphere,” he said. “I hope they can say, ‘we could do this a lot, this is fun.’”
Martin is in his 15th and final season as the coach of Cedarville’s women’s basketball team, and he will step down as the winningest coach in the team’s history.
After the game, four seniors on the team were honored in a ceremony for playing their last home game: Forward Kayla Linkous and guards Kaysie Brittenham, Whitney Robinson and Taylor Vander Plas.
Cedarville is now 19-7 (10-2 G-MAC) and will end the regular season on a road trip, playing Alderson Broaddus on Thursday, February 25, and Davis & Elkins on Saturday, February 27.
Jonathan Gallardo is a senior journalism major and sports editor for Cedars. Unfortunately, he is in the middle of reading Twilight.
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