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The Malone University women's basketball team earned its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) victory of the season with an 80-78 overtime triumph over visiting Lake Superior State University (MI) Thursday evening.
Both teams shot over 50% in the first quarter that featured four ties and six lead changes. Pioneer freshman Chrissie Vaughan connected on two early triples but it was the Lakers who took a 19-18 advantage on the strength of eight points from Valerie Meissner.
The Pioneers flipped the script in the second quarter, outscoring the Lakers 19-14. In a cleanly played first half, Malone stayed true to form. After coming in ranked number one in the nation in fewest personal fouls and number two in the GLIAC in fewest turnovers, the Pioneers committed just one foul and no turnovers through the first twenty minutes.
A 13-2 run early in the third quarter sparked the Lakers to their biggest lead of the game, a 48-42 edge midway through the period. The Pioneers' Tara Schaffter ended the rally with two buckets before Malone cut the lead to just 54-53 after three frames.
In a wild fourth quarter that featured three ties and six lead changes, the Pioneers rallied to force overtime. After Vaughan drained her second three-pointer of the quarter at the 2:16 mark to give Malone a 67-66 lead, Lake Superior State's Mackenzie Edwards hit her own clutch three to give the visitors a 69-67 advantage. The Pioneers, forced to foul in the waning seconds, put Meissner at the charity stripe. After knocking down one of two, Malone trailed 70-67 with 22 ticks on the clock.
Following a Tara Schaffter missed three that would have tied the game, Audrey Myers earned the offensive rebound and a putback that made it 70-69 with five seconds left. Forced to foul again, Malone sent Edwards to the line where she split two free throws to make it 71-69. Malone's Rachel Goddard tied it up at 71-71 after taking the rebound coast-to-coast and draining a contested layup that fell just as the fourth-quarter buzzer sounded.
The Lakers again took the lead in overtime, but Malone answered back. Schaffter connected on two free throws that made it 78-77 LSSU with 1:24 to go, but it was Goddard again who gave the Pioneers the lead. After driving into the paint against a pesky defense, Goddard's circus layup with eight seconds left gave Malone a 79-78 edge. After a Laker turnover, Goddard went one of two from the line, giving LSSU the ball down 80-78 with two seconds left. The Lakers couldn't get a shot off as the Pioneers deflected the inbound pass to seal their first conference victory of the season.
