The Kentucky Wesleyan College women’s basketball team avenged their only conference loss of the season with an 80-60 win at home over Cedarville on Thursday. The men’s team made a late run but fell 64-58 in the second game of the doubleheader.
WOMEN
A hot start for the Kentucky Wesleyan College women’s basketball team propelled them to their 14th straight win on Thursday, defeating second-place Cedarville University 80-60 to avenge the Panthers’ only conference loss this season.
Wesleyan (18-3, 14-1 G-MAC) closed out the first quarter with an 11-4 run to take a 24-16 lead after the first frame. The Panthers hit seven 3-pointers in the first half en route to a 47-37 lead to the break.
After some back-and-forth play, Wesleyan used a 9-0 run to regain a 16-point lead.
The Panthers were in cruise control from there, holding a double digit lead the remainder of the game.
Jenna Martin led the Panthers with 24 points, and Keelie Lamb had 20 points and 7 rebounds. Kaylee Clifford posted 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Wesleyan finished the game with 32 points in the paint, and they went 17-for-18 at the free throw line.
It’s the 14th win in a row for Wesleyan, and they have a firm grip on first place in the conference. They also remain undefeated at home this season at 12-0
The six-game home stand comes to a close Saturday as the Panthers host Tiffin University at 12 p.m.
MEN
The Panthers trailed by as many as 11 in the second half before cutting the deficit to one in the final minute.
Wesleyan (7-12, 5-8 G-MAC) took an early 9-2 lead, but the Yellow Jackets (13-10, 10-5 G-MAC) flipped the script to build their own 7-point lead at 29-22 with just over two minutes left in the half.
The Panthers went on an 8-0 run to regain a lead, but a late 3-pointer gave Cedarville a 32-30 lead at the break.
The Yellow Jackets quietly worked their lead up to 54-43 with nine minutes left in the contest.
With less than five minutes left, Zach Hopewell’s step-back jumper got Wesleyan within one possession at 54-52.
The teams traded 3-point buckets down the stretch, and a long ball gave the Yellow Jackets a 62-58 lead with 12 seconds left in the game.
Hopewell scored a game-high 19 points and Mohamed Abu Arisha added 12 points and 6 rebounds. Goetz finished with 11 points, all in the second half.
The Panthers will host Tiffin University at 2:15 p.m. Saturday.
