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The Malone University women's basketball team lost to Walsh University by the score of 61-49 in Malone's Osborne Hall Thursday night in the 16th annual Mayors' Cup game.  Walsh avenged a 58-53 Pioneer win over the Cavaliers (at Walsh) earlier this season.  With the loss, Malone dropped to 9-10 while Walsh improved to 9-10.

With the victory, Walsh now leads the Mayors' Cup series by a 9-7 margin while winning the last five Mayors' Cup matchups.  The Cavaliers also lead the overall series between the teams by a slight 36-32 margin.

In the first half, with the game tied at 8-all early on, the visitors slowly pulled away from the Pioneers to post a 27-13 advantage with just one minute left in the half. But, Malone responded with a 5-0 run in that final minute to trim their deficit to 27-18 at the intermission.

In the final frame, Malone's comeback continued as the hosts retook the lead and held a 36-34 edge with 12:51 left in the contest. The contest remained close until roughly six minutes remained, at which point the score was tied at 47-all (the seventh tie of the evening). At that point, though, Walsh went on a 14-2 run down the stretch to secure the 12-point 61-49 win.

Malone shot 32.7% (17-52) from the floor while the Cavaliers connected on 43.6% (24-55) of their field goal attempts. From three-point range, the Pioneers had 24 attempts but converted just six for 25.0% while Walsh only attempted eight, hitting four for 50.0%. At the free throw line, each team sank nine with Malone attempting 15 (60.0%) and Walsh offering up 12 (75.0%). In addition, the rebounding battle was basically dead-even with the Cavaliers holding a slim 37-36 advantage.

Forward Lindsy Snyder paced Malone in scoring with 18 points, on 7-for-8 shooting from the floor, to go along with her eight rebounds. Guard Lauren Myers tossed in eight points and added two rebounds and three steals while guard Selana Reale also chippe din with eight points and four rebounds. Guard Sydnee Penn, who tallied six points, paced the team in rebounds with nine while adding three assists.

Megan Hogg led Walsh with 18 points while three other Cavalier players followed with eight points apiece. Maggie Berry paced the squad in rebounds with eight.

Malone will be back in action Saturday night (Jan. 21) when the Pioneers travel to Notre Dame (OH) College for a 2:00 p.m. contest. The game will be broadcast on WNPQ 95.9 FM and a live audio stream can be heard at www.thelight959.com. Live stats will also be available.