Cedars, November 2018

by Tim Miller A fter winning 24 games and steam- rolling their way through the regu- lar season, the Cedarville women’s basketball team suffered a stunning G-MAC tournament semifinal loss to Hillsdale that ended their season. The Lady Jackets still feel that shocking loss tugging at them as they prepare for the 2018-19 season. “We’ve brought up our Hillsdale game five or six times in practice,” head coach Kari Hoffman said. “We weren’t ready to be done last year, and several of those return- ers understand that.” As if Cedarville needs more motivation this preseason, the Lady Jackets were voted to finish third in the conference after taking the regular season crown last year. “I was a little upset about third,” senior guard Abby Wolford said. “I want to show people that we’re still so talented. I want us to be regular season and tournament champs.” Cedarville loses four seniors from a sea- son ago, all of whom were heavily involved in producing for the Lady Jackets. The big- gest hole this year’s team must plug comes in rebounding, as those seniors ranked first through fourth in individual rebounding a season ago. Three of the four seniors were pure posts, while the fourth was a lockdown de- fender and a notorious scrapper and defen- sive stalwart for the Lady Jackets. Hoffman said it will take a team effort to replace the lost production on the boards. There’s no pure post on the roster this sea- son, and who will take that role in the start- ing lineup is still in question. “Everyone needs to step up,” Hoffman said. “All of our guards are gonna have to re- bound. We’ve told our five that we just want you to play defense and rebound.” Fortunately for Cedarville, the roster still has plenty of promise. Leading scorer and senior guard Regina Hochstetler returns after suffering a torn ACL late last season. Further, senior guard Abby Wolford, who has missed the past two seasons due to inju- ry, is slotted in the starting lineup this year. Record-breaking senior guard Baylee Bennett brings her uncanny 3-point ac- curacy back for one more campaign with the Lady Jackets. Bennett broke the sin- gle-game conference record for most triples and single-season team record for most 3-pointers last season. Guard Ashlyn Huffman broke out last season as a freshman for the Lady Jackets, averaging eight points per game and tossing in 37 percent of her attempts from deep. “I think we’ll have the best backcourt in the league,” Hoffman said. “It’s almost to the point where there’s not enough shots for everyone. There’s exciting things on the offensive side of the ball.” Even with the loss of experience, Hoff- man said she expects her team to be one of the best she’s had in terms of leadership. All se- niors on the team (Bennett, Hochstetler, Kelly Poole, Wolford) have been named captains. While Hoffman understands four cap- tains on a team could lead to turbulence with so many voices, she says the captains have shown an ability to work together. “They do a good job of using their strengths to their advantage and letting each other own their own responsibilities,” Hoffman said. The team sports six freshmen, some of whom could find their way into the rotation early on. The coaching staff has especially high hopes for guard Emily Chapman. The Proctorville, Ohio, native garnered atten- tion from Division I schools, but she chose Cedarville in order to stay close to home. Additionally, Hoffman mentioned first- year forward Alli Roh and wing Lexi Moore as other freshmen who could make an im- pact early. Hoffman expects Roh to compete for the starting post position and said she has major upside. The women’s basketball team has been one of the university’s more successful pro- grams, and junior Ellie Juengel said the team should produce another notable campaign. “I think we’re looking great. We have some freshmen that are gonna step up, peo- ple who are going to take different roles, and I think everybody is prepared for that.” Multiple players have made their high expectations clear, and Hoffman will lead the charge as the Lady Jackets crave anoth- er postseason run, with a better outcome this season. “I expect to repeat as G-MAC champs and I hope we can finish the job this year and win the tournament,” she said. “We still have a bitter taste in our mouth from not winning that.” TimMiller is a junior marketing major and sports editor for Cedars. He enjoys hav- ing a baby face, knowing too much about supplemental insurance, and striving to perfect the optimal combination of Dwight Schrute and Ron Swanson. November 2018 14 SPORTS Healthy Lady Jackets Look to Compete for G-MAC Title Photo by Jillian Strouse Abby Wolford (passer) is healthy for the first time in two seasons. Photo by Jillian Strouse Ellie Juengel (with ball) returns after missing the entire 2017-2018 season.