Box Score
The Kentucky Wesleyan women's basketball team fell to Cedarville 72-59 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference semifinals on Friday evening in Pepper Pike, OH. The Panthers led for a majority of the game, but Cedarville took control of the game on both ends in the fourth quarter and ultimately pulled away from the Panthers. With the loss, Kentucky Wesleyan's season comes to an end at 17-10.
Early on, the Panthers saw production from Jennifer Walker-Crawford and Asia Coates inside the paint. The Panthers held an 8-3 advantage halfway through the quarter, and led 18-11 after the first as Cedarville struggled to find their offense.
In the second quarter, KWC was able to extend the lead. Sydney Morabito and Bria Wright would knock down back-to-back three point field goals to put Kentucky Wesleyan ahead at 26-18. Jennifer Walker-Crawford and Asia Coates also contributed in the quarter and saw their offensive totals improve. The Panthers led 37-28 at the break. Walker-Crawford led all scorers in the half with 12 points, while Coates and Morabito had 10 and eight points. Kentucky Wesleyan shot 52% from the floor in the half.
Once the second half took off, Cedarville slowly but surely began chipping away at the Panthers' lead. KWC was still able to maintain a 46-40 advantage later in the quarter, but Cedarville knotted the game up at 49 apiece. Jill Jones put the Panthers ahead 51-49 going into the fourth. Cedarville's defense made it tough on Kentucky Wesleyan's offense in the second half.
After a couple of quick lead changes by both squads, Cedarville took over the game. The Yellow Jackets trailed 55-54 after a jumper from Erin Dorn, but quickly re-gained the lead at 63-57. KWC's lead was gone for good at that point in the contest. The Panthers continued to stay in foul trouble, which allowed Cedarville to increase the lead at the free throw line. The Panthers found themselves down 65-57 late, but missed a couple of key free throws, and Cedarville converted on the Panthers' miscues. The Yellow Jackets out-scored KWC altogether 42-22 in the second half.
Jennifer Walker-Crawford led the Panthers with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Asia Coates also scored in double figures with 12 points. Sydney Morabito finished with eight points, and Erin Dorn collected seven. Jill Jones dished out two assists.
KWC's field goal percentage dropped to 30% from the floor by the end of the game. The Panthers were out-scored 24-6 inside the paint, and gave up 24 points off of turnovers. Kentucky Wesleyan's bench chipped in 26 points in the contest. KWC's largest lead of the entire game was in the second quarter, where they led 34-20.
