Box Score

The Malone University women's basketball team suffered a hard-fought 61-59 loss at home to Ohio Dominican University on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers (13-10 overall, 9-10 GLIAC) came out firing, jumping out to a 27-10 advantage midway through the first half.  Guards Deborah Simmers and Sydnee Penn helped to fuel the early surge, each netting seven points apiece over the first 11 minutes of the contest.

However, the Panthers (8-14 overall, 5-14 GLIAC) refused to go quietly, cutting the deficit to 33-29 at halftime after out-scoring Malone 19-6 over the final nine minutes of the opening stanza.

Ohio Dominican then carried the momentum from the latter stages of the first half over to the beginning of the second period, using a 13-2 run to grab a 42-35 advantage with a little over 13 minutes remaining. 

The Panthers would take their largest lead of the contest at the 5:48 mark of the second half as a lay-up by forward Alex Hallenbeck put ODU on top 54-44.  Malone managed to regroup over the next few minutes, scoring 12 unanswered points to pull ahead 56-54.  Penn again led the Pioneer charge, hitting a three-pointer to jump start the rally and then converting a three-point play to put her squad on top. 

The back-and-forth battle then continued as baskets on consecutive trips down the floor put the Panthers back in front at 58-56 with 58 ticks remaining.

Forward Sarah Bardall split a pair of free throws on the Pioneers' next possession to cut the deficit to one.  Malone then had a chance to take the lead following an Ohio Dominican turnover, but the hosts' go-ahead shot attempt was off the mark.  After securing the rebound, ODU forward Katelyn Stuckey headed to the foul line and calmly sank two clutch free throws to push the visitors' advantage to 60-57 with 12 seconds to go. 

A quick lay-up by Penn made it 60-59 with five seconds showing on the clock.  The Panthers split two more foul shots with 3.1 remaining, but Malone was unable to attempt a shot before the final horn sounded.

Penn ended the afternoon with a team-high 17 points to go with four steals.  Simmers added 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots while guard Logan Pastor tallied 11 points and three assists.

Guard Kacee Hockenberry led the way for Ohio Dominican with a game-high 18 points, 13 of which came in the first half.  Stuckey finished with 15 points and five rebounds.  Hallenbeck tossed in 12 points while Melissa Scherpenberg came off the bench to contribute 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Pioneers scored 27 points off 24 Panther turnovers, but ODU held a commanding 42-25 advantage in total rebounds, including an 18-10 edge on the offensive glass. 

Overall, Malone connected on 22 of its 55 (40%) shots from the field, six of its 20 (30%) three-pointers, and nine of its 11 (81.8%) free throws.  Ohio Dominican countered by converting on 22 of 49 (44.9%) shots from the floor, four of 14 (28.6%) treys and 13 of 21 (61.9%) foul shots.

Malone will look to bounce back on Thursday when the squad travels to Hillsdale College (9-13 overall, 6-13 GLIAC) for an 8:00 p.m. contest.  Live statistics will be available during the game at http://livestats.prestosports.com/hillsdale/