The Malone University women's basketball team fended off a late comeback effort from Ohio Valley University Saturday afternoon as the Pioneers came away with a 71-50 non-conference victory.
Garnering just her third career start, junior
Natalie Nickol buried two early threes as part of a 17-0 run to start the game as the Pioneers rolled to 21-3 advantage after one quarter. Malone extended the lead to as many as 26 before Ohio Valley's Jalyn Gilbert knocked down a three just before half to make it 41-18. Malone limited Ohio Valley to just 20.8% (5-24) shooting in the first half. Senior
Bri Libertore, whose previous career-high was 11 rebounds corralled 14 boards in the first half alone.
The Fighting Scots didn't back down in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 20-10 in the third quarter to make it 51-38 heading into the final frame. Ohio Valley's relentless pressure defense allowed the Scots to cut the Malone advantage to nine as back-to-back OVU steals and scores made it 59-50 Malone with just 3:13 in the 4th quarter. Forced into a timeout by head coach
Ryan Bailey, Malone responded with back-to-back fastbreak layups from
Lexie Pittinger and
Rachel Goddard as part of a 12-0 run that saw the Pioneers pull away for the 71-50 triumph.
Malone Individual Highlights:- Bri Libertore obliterated her previous career-high, finishing with 21 rebounds to go along with 10 points, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in 38 minutes...the 21 rebounds tied her for the 3rd highest single-game total in Malone history and the 6th highest total in NCAA DII this season
- Natalie Nickol finished with a career-high 10 points and 4 steals
- Sophomore Lexie Pittinger set a career-high with 12 points
- Senior forward Tara Schaffter added 10 points, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 2 blocks
- Rachel Goddard tallied 14 points and 4 assists
Ohio Valley Individual Highlights:- Jalyn Gilbert scored a game-high 19 points in addition to her 3 steals
- Imani Hill recorded 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals
- Forward Ariel Johnson, coming in as the GMAC's 3rd leading rebounder, totaled 11 rebounds and 6 points
Game Notes:- Malone held a 50-37 rebounding edge
- After shooting, 51.4% (18-35) in the first half, the Pioneers finshed 44.4% (28-63) from the floor
- Ohio Valley recorded 12 steals and 2 blocks while Malone collected 8 steals and 8 blocks
- The Pioneers turned the ball over a season-high 23 times
- Ohio Valley's three first-quarter points were the season-low allowed by Malone in any quarter this year
Up Next:- The Pioneers (4-5) will ring in the new year with a road trip to Michigan where the Pioneers will face Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, January 2nd at 1:00 pm before traveling to Hillsdale College Sunday, January 3rd for a 2:00 pm tipoff
