BOX SCORE
CEDARVILLE, Ohio - On the campus of Cedarville University, the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers looked to repeat as Great Midwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball champions. However, as the third seed, they would have to upset the top seed and host Cedarville Lady Jackets.
Heading into the title game, the Lady Jackets are ranked #22 in the country and sit at #10 in the Midwest region. Despite the higher ranking, Cedarville knew they would receive a fight as no number one seed has won the women’s tournament in the conference’s short tenure, and KWC was one of those teams that pulled the upset, taking down TNU on its home court last year.
CU jumped got out to an early lead, moving ahead 7-2 after the first five minutes. KWC quickly went into as press defense to slow the Jackets down. After forcing turnovers on three-straight possessions, KWC went on a 6-0 run to grab the lead heading into the second media timeout.
With the score 10-9 halfway through the first half and both teams shooting under 28% from the floor, the defense came out ready to play on both teams. A combined 16 turnovers by the teams slowed down the tempo.
Cedarville’s Raegan Ryan looked determined to change the rhythm as she knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to reclaim the lead and spark an 11-2 run and the Lady Jackets held a 31-18 lead at the break. Ryan was 4-5 from long range with a pair of assists and rebounds, while Kayla Linkous and Abby Wolford each had seven in the first 20 minutes.
For the Panthers, Jennifer Walker-Crawford had six points while Deborah Gordon led the charge on the boards with five.
Kentucky Wesleyan came out of the gate with five quick points, with Walker-Crawford knocking down a 3-pointer. Wolford responded with a 3 of her own to silence the Panthers’ run.
The Lady Jackets extended its lead to 19 midway through the second half and looked like they would cruise to a victory. However, the Panthers gave it one last run, clawing back and getting stops to cut the lead to 10 on a layup by Asia Coates with four minutes left on the clock.
Free throws brought Cedarville’s lead down to 7 but KWC was forced to foul and the CU lead began to increase again. It was just too much for Kentucky Wesleyan and Cedarville finished the game at the charity stripe and sealing the G-MAC trophy.
Raegan Ryan led all scorers with 26. Wolford and Linkous each had 14, with Linkous adding rebounds. KWC was led in scoring by Jennifer Walker-Crawford with 13 points and Bria Wright on the boards with five.
Kentucky Wesleyan season closes out at 20-9 after failing making a run to the conference championship game for the second-straight year as the third seed in the tournament. After dropping its first four games, KWC ended its season winning 20 of its final 24 before its loss this afternoon.
Cedarville will now await the final regional rankings that will determine its fate in the G-MAC’s final season without an automatic qualifier for its conference champion. Regardless of its rankings, the team’s season was a tremendously successful one as they finish 27-3 and gave Cedarville its sixth conference title in eight sports this season.