The Malone University women's basketball team will play its home opener this Saturday, November 19th at 1:00 pm when it takes on archrival Walsh University in a challenging non-conference matchup. The Cavaliers won both matchups a season ago and have won five of their last six over Malone.
 
GameDay
(11/19) Malone (0-1) vs. Walsh (1-2) – 1:00 pm
Live Video: livestream.com/maloneuniversity
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/malone/wbball/
 
All Time Series
Walsh holds a 41-36 advantage in the history of the rivalry. The Cavaliers defeated Malone 64-51 in Osborne Hall in their most recent meeting last February.

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Pioneers opened the season with a 70-63 loss last Friday at Lake Erie in the head coach Rick Tice's debut
• In the loss, Malone shot just 34.5% from the field, turned the ball over 18 times, and got just four points from the bench.
• Four starters, Rachel Goddard (17), Baylen Dyrlund (15), Paiten Strother (14), and Hannah McCue (13) reached double digits in scoring
• McCue, a senior transfer, recorded a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds in her first game with the Pioneers. In a 63-52 exhibition loss to Akron on Saturday, she added 13 points, nine rebounds, and four blocked shots
• Baylen Dyrlund, a junior transfer, followed her 15-point effort at Lake Erie with a double-double on Saturday. She led Malone with 20 points and 13 rebounds against the Division I Zips.
• Rachel Goddard dished out a team-high five assists along with her team-high 17 points vs. Lake Erie. She chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds against Akron. In four career games against this Saturday's opponent Walsh, Goddard has averaged 13 points per contest..
• Starting guards Paiten Strother and Chrissie Vaughan combined for six three-pointers in the two losses.
• Reserve forward Naomi Grandison was the only bench player to score in the both games
• Malone has struggled to shoot the basketball, especially from deep. The Pioneers are shooting just 21.7 % (13-of-60) from long range. They shot 32.9% as a team from deep last season
• After leading the nation in fewest personal fouls last season, Malone committed an uncharacteristic 27 fouls in the season opener. The Pioneers committed more than 20 fouls on only one occasion last season. They will need to be more disciplined against a Walsh unit that loves to get to the free throw line.
• On a positive note, Malone has outrebounded both of its opponents this season, averaging 41.5 rebounds over two games. The Pioneers were one of the worst rebounding teams in the nation last season, recording just 33.0 rebounds per game and being outrebounded by an average of 5.6 rebounds
• Malone managed to outrebound Walsh 33-32 in the home loss to end last season. Rachel Goddard led Malone with 16 points while Chrissie Vaughan chipped in with nine markers.

Walsh Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• First-year head coach Kate Bruce picked up her first win with Walsh in an 88-77 win over Fairmont State on Wednesday night.
• Last weekend, Walsh lost to Indianapolis and nationally-ranked Lewis. Just like Malone, Walsh also dropped an exhibition contest with Akron, falling 81-70 in a preseason matchup.
• The Cavaliers are led by senior guard Brooklyn Wooten who is averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. The All-GLIAC Second Teamer scored a career-high 33 points in the overtime loss to Lewis. Her 33 points were the 2nd most by a DII player this season.
• Wooten is joined in the backcourt by senior guard Jalynn Graham (11.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.3 spg). Graham scored a team-high 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting in the win over Fairmont.
• Junior forward Alex Hochstedler added 19 in the win and is averaging 12.7 ppg on the season
• Junior forward Brittni Clopton is the 4th Cavalier averaging double-digit points (10.0 ppg). She leads the team in rebounds (8.0 rpg) and has three blocks through three games.
• Sophomore forward Emily Westphal made her first career start on Wednesday, scoring 13 points in 29 minutes
• As a team, the Cavaliers have been to the free throw line 96 times through three games this season and rank 4th in the nation in made free throws (70).
• In the road win over Malone last season, the Cavs hit 13-of-17 free throws. Wooten was 7-of-10 at the line and led all scorers with 23 points.