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The Malone University women's basketball team used clutch shooting and a tremendous defensive effort to rally from 18 points back and come away with a dramatic 58-56 victory over Ferris State University.
Coming into the game needing just five points to reach the 500-point milestone, junior guard Rachel Goddard wasted no time, netting back-to-back three pointers early in the first quarter to give the hosts an 8-2 advantage. The visiting Bulldogs fought back to tie it up at 15 before Bri Libertore knocked down a jumper seconds before the first-quarter buzzer.
An ice-cold shooting performance by the Pioneers in the 2nd quarter put them down 29-19 at the intermission. Ferris outscored Malone 14-2 in the quarter as the Pioneers shot just 1-of-13 from the field. The two points were their lowest scoring output in a quarter all season.
After a Chrissie Vaughan jumper opened the scoring in the 2nd half, the frigid shooting continued for Malone who missed their next five shots. Â A pair of free throws by Ferris' Alexis Huntey gave the visitors a 39-21 advantage and their largest lead of the game with 6:18 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Pioneers' shooting finally heated as back-to-back three pointers by freshmen Vaughan and Naomi Grandison quicly cut the lead to 12. Goddard's layup followed by a three-pointer from Alaina Schwarz, who played in her first game since November, cut the lead to single digits. A nifty cut and layup by Mackenzie Storlie, who played her first game of the season, made it 41-34.
A controversial technical foul call put the Bulldogs' Abby Nakfoor at the line for four attempts. After sinking three of the four, Ferris stretched the lead back to double-digits and maintained a 46-36 edge going into the 4th.
The Pioneers picked up the defensive intensity in the final stanza, forcing the Bulldogs into eight fourth-quarter turnovers including five in their first six possessions. Meanwhile, Malone was chipping away at the lead. Free throws from Tara Schaffter and Chrissie Vaughan and another Vaughan triple brought the score to within five at 48-43. Schaffter and Bri Libertore each went to the line once more where the senior forwards both split a pair to make it 48-45 with 5:36 left to play.
An and-1 opportunity by Canton native Emily Evans put the Bulldogs up 51-45, before Schaffter drained two more free throws. Goddard's layup at the 3:04 mark made it 51-49. Hoping to take the wind out of Malone's sails, Ferris' Alexis Huntey buried a three on the Bulldogs next possession to make it 54-49.
Naomi Grandison retaliated with a three of her own before swiping a Ferris State pass. On the subsequent possession, Goddard was fouled driving the lane, sending her to the line where she hit one of two. Malone forced Ferris into yet another turnover before another Goddard field goal gave the Pioneers a 55-54 lead with 1:18 to play.
After a Bulldogs' miss, Goddard's jumper was off the mark but Senior Tara Schaffter battled for the offensive rebound and was promptly fouled. At the line, she missed the first, but made the second to give Malone a 56-54 lead with 29.5 seconds to play.
Ferris State's Margo Brown's baseline jumper, her only make of the game, tied it up at 56 with 16 seconds to play. Malone head coach Ryan Bailey called a timeout with ten 10 seconds to go to draw up a play. After taking the inbound and dribbling time off the clock, Rachel Goddard, with her flair for the dramatic, raced to the right wing, pulled up from 15 feet, and buried the game-winner, bringing the modest crowd to its collective feet.
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