Malone University point guard Rachel Goddard earned the final Great Midwest Athletic Conference women's basketball Athlete of the Week award of the season after guiding the Pioneers to a G-MAC Championship and their first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. The senior playmaker led Malone to a pair of come-from-behind wins over Cedarville and Ursuline, averaging 25 points, six assists, and two steals. The award marks Goddard's third G-MAC Athlete of the Week of the 2016-17 campaign and her second in two weeks.
 
In a 63-58 semifinal win over # 3 seed Cedarville on Friday, in which the Pioneers overcame a 12-point deficit, Goddard was brilliant, matching a season-high with 29 points to go along with five assists and a career-high four steals on the defensive end. Goddard did most of her damage from behind the arc where she was a remarkable 7-for-7 on three-pointers. The seven three-pointers also marked a career-high.  During a 9-2 stretch in the fourth quarter in which Malone gained the decisive lead, Goddard drilled a three-pointer and assisted on two others by Chrissie Vaughan to help the Pioneers advance to the G-MAC Championship.
 
In Saturday's final over #1 seed Ursuline, Goddard answered the call once again, tallying a game-high 21 points while handing out seven assists. Facing a 50-40 deficit with five minutes to play in the third, Goddard sparked an 8-2 run with an assist on a Mackenzie Storlie three-pointer and a three-pointer of her own to put Malone back in the game. Still trailing 57-50 entering the fourth, Goddard's three-pointer on the opening possession ignited a 9-0 run that put Malone back in front. Goddard eventually assisted on Naomi Grandison's game-winning three-pointer with 34 seconds to play that broke a 64-64 deadlock and helped Malone pulled away for the 72-64 victory.
 
The Pioneers claimed their first-ever G-MAC Championship in their first year in the new conference. With the win, Malone secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will meet #1 seed Ashland this Friday in Ashland in the Midwest Regional Quarterfinal.