Lady Jackets’ Offensive Assault Provides Win in G-MAC Opener

The Cedarville Lady Jackets extended their winning streak to seven games after a 90-69 handling of Lake Erie on Thursday evening in their G-MAC opener. The Lady Jackets continue to look as threatening as they have in seasons past, and reached a season-high in points in the win.

Junior guard Ashlyn Huffman tallied a season-best 22 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

“That was a really good way to start conference,” Huffman said of the victory. “Playing good team ball like that is a lot of fun.”

Senior guard Abby Wolford contributed 13 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Freshman guard Paige Garr added 11 points on 5-6 shooting.

As a team, the Lady Jackets shot the lights out, making 66.7% of their shots from the field and 58.3% of their shots from behind the 3-point line. Cedarville also amassed a season-high 24 assists.

“I thought we really shared the ball well,” head coach Kari Hoffman said. “We didn’t settle for contested 3’s and we took lay-ups and attacked the hoop.”

Paige Garr (shooting) continues to prove her worth as a freshman, as she reached double figures for the second time this season (Photo by Lydia Wolterman).

Garr led the Lady Jackets to their first points just 13 seconds into the contest, and Wolford stroked a 3-pointer to put Cedarville up 5-0 barely a minute into the game. Another basket gave Cedarville a 7-0 advantage, as the Lady Jackets stole the show to start.

The Storm fought back, cutting Cedarville’s lead to 9-8 with 4:47 on the clock. Both teams struggled with turnovers to start, as they combined to suffer nine in the first five minutes.

As turnovers subsided in the second half of the first quarter, the Lady Jackets’ fantastic shooting display continued. After one quarter, Cedarville made nine of 13 attempts from the field, good for 69.2%. Cedarville led 21-16 after the first frame, and Garr rattled in a buzzer-beater to end the quarter.

Wolford and Huffman scored five points each and Cedarville scored seven points off Lake Erie turnovers.

The Storm charged back with five of the first seven points of the second quarter. With 8:41 left, the Lady Jackets’ lead was cut to 23-21.

The Lady Jackets shot with the same accuracy as the first quarter, and even though Lake Erie was able to manage buckets here and there, they weren’t able to keep up with Cedarville. Garr scored five straight for the Lady Jackets to put Cedarville up 30-23 with 5:42 on the clock.

Cedarville took its first double-digit lead thanks to a triple made by junior guard Johnting with 3:56 remaining. Lake Erie responded immediately with a triple thereafter. Sophomore forward Lexi Moore enjoyed a couple lay-ins and Huffman splashed a triple to break the game open for Cedarville, giving the Lady Jackets a 42-27 margin as the quarter waned.

The Lady Jackets’ 11-4 run gave them a 46-31 lead at halftime. Huffman had 14 points and four rebounds, while Garr added 11 points on 5-5 shooting. As a team, Cedarville shot astronomically, hitting 74.1% of its shots from the field and making 85.7% of its shots from behind the arc.

The Lady Jackets improved to 7-1 and scored over 80 points for the fourth time this season (Photo by Lydia Wolterman).

Cedarville’s lead could have been much larger had the Lady Jackets taken care of the ball. Though they forced 12 Storm turnovers, they suffered 11.

The Lady Jackets continued to slowly but surely grow its lead. Six different Lady Jackets helped swell Cedarville’s lead in the first five minutes of the third, leading to a 60-43 lead with 4:22 on the clock.

Cedarville pushed its largest lead to 19 points during the quarter, and led 68-51 after three periods. Huffman pushed her point total to 20 thanks to six third-quarter points, while Wolford piled in eight points.

As the gameflow allowed, Hoffman began giving her reserves more playing time and resting her starters. Cedarville was able to easily run out the clock and coast to a win.