Box Score

The Malone University women's basketball team, led by third-year head coach Jason Mishler, made it all the way to the GLIAC championship game but came up just short in the conference title contest as #2 seed Northern Michigan University edged #5 seed Malone by the score of 53-49 on Sunday on the campus of GLIAC final four host Wayne State University (MI).

After knocking off #4 seed and defending NCAA Division II national champion Ashland University, on the Eagles' home floor, in the quarterfinals and then stopping GLIAC tourney top seed Wayne State in the semis on Saturday, the Pioneers, despite the loss to the Wildcats Sunday, were hoping to continue their season with an at-large bid to the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament.

Unfortunately, Malone learned Sunday night that it did not receive an at-large bid. While the news was not what the squad had hoped for, it did not take away from a terrific 2013-14 season. The Pioneers not only made it to the finals of the GLIAC tournament in only their first year of being eligible to compete in the event, but posted what is an outstanding 21-10 overall record. With the win, NMU (22-7) extended its current winning streak to 10 games and has secured an automatic bid to the upcoming Midwest Region event.

In the first half, despite struggling offensively, Malone also kept the Wildcats off balance with its typical solid defense and found itself holding an 18-16 lead with just 2:47 left in the first half.  But from that point, NMU closed out the first half on a 7-0 run, including a three-pointer at the buzzer, to take a 23-18 lead at the intermission.

Northern Michigan continued that run to start the second half, capping a 16-0 string for a 32-18 lead with 15:35 left in the game, before Pioneer senior point guard Sydnee Penn split a one-and-one opportunity at the line to give Malone its first point in roughly seven minutes of action. 

After a made jumper by NMU's Abbey Debruin one minute later, which put the Wildcats up 34-19, Malone posted a 7-0 run of its own, on a triple by senior Deborah Simmers, a layup by Tara Schaffter and a jumper by Logan Pastor, which trimmed the Northern Michigan lead to just 34-26 with 12:38 left.

Malone still found itself down by a manageable seven points with 5:35 left, at 41-34, after a Penn jumper. Then, several minutes later, another trey drilled by Simmers closed the gap to just 44-40 with 3:08 left. NMU responded with an all-important 5-0 run, though, over the next minute and a half to grab a 49-40 lead with 1:44 remaining. 

A pair of Selana Reale layups over the next one minute closed the gap to five points, at 49-44, with 31 seconds left.  Fighting right down to the wire, Malone cut the lead to a one-possession game with eight seconds left when Penn nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to 52-49.  After a Penn foul, NMU's Alyssa Colla missed her first free throw attempt but made the second to give the Wildcats a 53-49 edge.  Then, in the final seconds, Reale attempted to get off a three-point shot, with hopes for contact from the defender as well, but lost the ball out of bounds as time expired.

Simmers paced Malone on offense with 13 points, including a 3-of-5 effort from long range, while also tallying five rebounds.  Penn, who like Simmers may well have played in her final collegiate game, contributed 12 points and five rebounds.  Pastor followed with nine points but also yanked down a game-high 10 rebounds.

For NMU, Lauren Gruber led all scorers with 19 points while Allysa Colla followed with 11 points.  Gruber also paced the Wildcats in rebounds with 10.

With both teams finishing with below-average shooting percentages, Malone at 37.0% (20-54) and NMU at 34.8%(16-46), the free throw advantage by Northern Michigan was a key factor in the Wildcat win as NMU sank 16 of 21 (76.2%) while Malone netted just four of nine attempts (44.4%). From long range, the Pioneers connected on five of 12 (41.7%) while the Wildcats hit five of 20 (25.0%).  In addition, NMU held a 37-32 advantage on the boards.

Senior Stats:
Sydnee Penn, in playing three seasons at Malone, and earning All-GLIAC Second Team and All-GLIAC Defensive Team honors this year, has posted 908 career points, which ranks 23rd all time at Malone, and 404 rebounds, which is 22nd all-time at the University.
Deborah Simmers completed her second and final season at Malone with 677 points (40th at Malone) and 228 rebounds.
Lauren Myers, also in playing two seasons (having redshirted the 12-13 campaign), has tallied 375 points and 101 rebounds.