Breanne Watterworth scored 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to help Cedarville to a 72-66 double-overtime, nail-biting win over Ohio Christian on Thursday night.
Watterworth made more shots than she missed, converting nine of her 17 shots from the field. Watterworth also made each of her five attempts from the charity stripe.
The junior forward said she brought a two-pronged attack to help the Lady Jackets.
“We struggled with encouragement early on, so I just felt like I had to be a leader out there,” Watterworth said. “Being a scorer and just taking it to the defense, and making smart choices I think helped too.”
The usual offensive leaders, Regina Hochstetler and Baylee Bennett, never really got going. Hochstetler scored 14 points and Bennett scored 10 points.
Hochstetler proved clutch down the stretch, as she drained multiple shots late in the game to keep the Lady Jackets in it.
During the first quarter, neither team led by more than three points.
In the second quarter, however, Cedarville jumped to a 20-12 lead. The eight-point margin prompted a timeout call by Ohio Christian with 4:32 left in the quarter.
The timeout sparked a huge run for Ohio Christian, as they closed the half on a 15-2 run. The Trail Blazers took a 25-22 lead into the half.
Neither team was able to keep the upper hand for very long in the third quarter. OCU splashed a three-pointer with 2:31 left in the quarter and took a five-point advantage with the shot.
Watterworth used her post moves to perfection, sinking a shot that would tie the game at 40 with under a minute remaining in the third. The quarter ended with the game deadlocked at 42.
Both teams traded buckets throughout the fourth. OCU made one of two free throw attempts to tie the game at 53 with 40 seconds left.
Neither team could break the tie from there, and the game entered overtime.
The Trail Blazers scored five unanswered to start the overtime period, putting the Lady Jackets’ backs to the wall.
With 2:05 left, Bennett’s rough night received a boost after she hit both of her free throws to cut the lead to two. Kaitlyn Holm followed by making two of her own, which made the score 58-57.
Hochstetler brought her night back to life, sinking a timely three-pointer with 38 seconds left. With the shot, the game was tied at 60.
Cedarville committed a costly foul next possession that sent OCU to the line with 19 seconds left. The Trail Blazers were unable to take the lead as they missed both of their free throw attempts.
Cedarville was unable to get a shot up as the first overtime period ended, which warranted a second overtime period.
The Lady Jackets were able to pull away from the Trail Blazers in the second overtime period, as two made free throws by junior forward Emily Williams gave Cedarville a 69-64 lead.
From there, Cedarville was able to ice the game. Cedarville made seven of eight free throw attempts in the final overtime period, which helped give them the edge.
The Lady Jackets have enjoyed 10 straight days of rest, and Cedarville head coach Kari Hoffman said that might have given them the edge in overtime.
“I think in the second overtime they definitely ran out of steam a little bit,” Hoffman said. “They just kind of wanted to chuck up some shots and that’s where we started to shine.”
Cedarville improves to 3-3 on the season and has won three straight. The Lady Jackets play again on Saturday against Wilberforce. Wilberforce comes to town with a 2-6 record. The Lady Jackets demolished Wilberforce in their last meeting, winning 88-26 last season.
Tim Miller is a freshman journalism student at Cedarville University. Tim loves anything that has to do with sports, and hopes to write about sports for a career after graduating from Cedarville.
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