The Malone University women's basketball team was outscored 20-5 in the 4th quarter in a 52-46 defeat to Lake Erie Thursday night in Painesville.
Despite shooting just 33.3% (11-of-33) and committing 11 turnovers through the first two quarters, Malone took a 26-25 lead into the locker room as the Pioneers limited Lake Erie to 29.4% (10-of-34) shooting and collected a season-high 30 rebounds in the first-half.
Three-pointers by Alaina Schwarz, Chrissie Vaughan, and Rachel Goddard capped off a 16-2 Pioneer run that gave Malone its largest lead of the game 37-27 with 4:35 left in the third quarter. Malone held Lake Erie to just 3-of-15 shooting in the third frame, outscoring the Storm 15-7, giving them a 41-32 edge heading into the final stanza.
The Pioneers would miss 11 straight field goal tries while Lake Erie used a 15-1 run to give them a 47-42 advantage before an old-fashioned three-point play by Goddard made it 47-45 with 1:39 to go. Down 49-46 in the waning seconds, Malone, being forced to foul, had an opportunity for a game-tying possession after Lake Erie missed two free throw attempts. But the Pioneers failed to secure a defensive rebound and Lake Erie sunk 1-of-2 on its next try to make it 50-46, putting the game out of reach.
Malone Individual Highlights:Lake Erie Individual Highlights:- Sami Narducci finished with a game-high 12 points and 3 steals
- Coming off the bench, Christine Dawson registered 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals
- Kayla Gabor totaled 10 points and 8 boards
Game Highlights:- Malone held the edge in rebounds (49-40) but Lake Erie held a 10-8 edge in second-chance points
- Lake Erie, coming into the game 11th in the nation in steals per game (11.8) collected 10 more steals in the win
- The Storm, ranked 13th in the nation in turnover margin (+5.86) committed just 6 turnovers to Malone's 19
- The Pioneers held Lake Erie to just 3-of-24 (12.5%) shooing from beyond the arc...Malone finished 7-for-26 (26.9%) from deep
Up Next:- The Pioneers (5-9, 2-7 GLIAC) will return home for a Saturday showdown with the nationally ranked (NCAA DII #6) Ashland Eagles (15-0, 9-0 GLIAC) at 1:00 pm. Preview notes are available here.