The Malone University women's basketball team lost a tough Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) matchup with Wayne State University (MI) coming within a possession four times in the fourth quarter but failing to close the gap as the Warriors pulled away for the 71-63 victory.

Malone came out strong in the opening quarter, leading 13-10 through eight minutes before Wayne State put together a 16-2 run, ignited by back-to-back three-pointers by freshman India Hawkins, that gave the Warriors a 26-15 advantage before Alahna Singleton, appearing in her first game since November, knocked down a three-ball to stop the Wayne State surge. Providing a dynamic spark off the bench, Singleton combined with Rachel Goddard for all 15 second quarter points and the Pioneers cut the lead to as little as two points before back-to-back buckets, including one in the final second, gave the Warriors a 36-30 lead going into the half.
 
The Warriors extended their lead to as many as twelve this time before another Singleton triple sparked a 10-0 Malone run that cut it to 45-43 with 3:18 left in the third quarter.  Wayne State scored seven of the last nine points to take a 52-45 lead into the final frame.
 
Both teams went scoreless for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter before Rachel Goddard's layup made it 52-47. Another Goddard layup a minute afterwards made it 54-51. Later in the quarter Goddard drained a trey to cut the lead to 58-55 before knocking down a pair of free throws to make it 60-57. Following a Wayne State layup, Bri Libertore knocked down her free throws to cut it back down to one possession again 62-59. Malone, forced to foul in the final minute, put the Warriors at the line where they hit 9-of-10 down the stretch and pulled away for the win. Malone freshman Rachel Williams came on in the final seconds to score her first career basket but the Pioneers fell to the Warriors 71-63.

Malone Individual Highlights:

• Rachel Goddard finished with a game-high 20 points
• In 23 minutes off the bench, Alahna Singleton tallied 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting including 3-of-6 from deep...she added a team-high 8 rebounds
• In her first start of the year, Mackenzie Storlie didn't score a point but pulled down 8 boards and dished out 4 assists
• Tara Schaffter contributed 13 points in the loss

Wayne State Individual Highlights:

• India Hawkins scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Warriors
• Ashley Wilson hit 5-of-6 free throws and recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 boards
• Brittany Streetman contributed 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals

Game Highlights:

• Wayne State outrebounded Malone 46-34 and out shot Malone 44.3% (27-61) to 34.9% (22-63)
• The Pioneers hit 8 three pointers on 29 attempts (27.6%)
• The Warriors ouscored the Pioneers 38-24 in the paint and 14-2 on the fast break
• Malone committed just 10 turnovers to 12 for Wayne State, but WSU scored 16 points off of turnovers to just seven for Malone

Up Next:

• Malone will host Findlay University on Saturday, January 30th in 1:00 pm tipoff. Preview Notes are available here.