Archived Video Broadcast

The Malone University women's basketball team lost its home opener to Walsh University in a classic rivalry matchup Saturday afternoon in Osborne Hall by the final score of 62-60. The Pioneers led for the majority of the contest but a last-second layup lifted Walsh to the late win.
 
After falling behind 4-0 in the game's opening minutes, the Pioneers went on an 11-0 run to open up a seven-point lead midway through the first quarter. Three straight buckets by Cavalier forward Brittni Clopton tied the game at 13-13 later in the quarter, but a layup by Hannah McCue and a three-point field goal by Chrissie Vaughan in the final minute gave Malone an 18-13 lead through one.
 
The Pioneers opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run as Vaughan's second three-ball extended the lead to 25-13. Walsh fought back with a 10-0 stretch that cut the deficit to just two before a pair of free throws by Holly Groff and a trey by Alaina Schwarz made it 30-23. Walsh added three points in the final two minutes, but Malone maintained a 30-26 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
The Malone offense, which outshot Walsh 40.7% to 28.6% in the first half, went on a tear to start the second half. Three pointers by Vaughan and Rachel Goddard and a pair of layups by Baylen Dyrlund sparked Malone to a 10-0 run and their biggest lead of the game at 40-26. Trailing by 14, Walsh junior forward Alex Hochstedler almost single-handedly willed her team back into the game, scoring 10 of the Cavs next 12 points. Her driving layup followed by a three by guard Alison Butler cut the lead in half with Malone still leading 50-43 entering the fourth quarter.
 
Another three by Brittni Clopton on the opening possession of the fourth quarter cut the Walsh deficit to just four with 9:48 to play. The next points would not come until the 6:39 mark when McCue scored on a layup to make it 52-46. Later in the quarter, McCue drained a three-pointer from the right wing to make it 56-50 but five straight points by Walsh made it 56-55 with 3:20 to play. A minute later, McCue drilled another three to give Malone a four-point cushion at 59-55. The Cavaliers answered right back, though, when Hochstedler buried a three-pointer of her own to make it 59-58 with just under two minutes to play.
 
On the next possession, Rachel Goddard was fouled on her drive to the basket but missed the first of her two shots at the foul line. Down 60-58, the Cavaliers would tie it up at 60-60 on Hochstedler's acrobatic layup on the following possession. On the subsequent possession, McCue's layup attempt was too strong and was corralled by the Walsh, but Baylen Dyrlund made a big defensive play,deflecting the outlet pass to give Malone control of the basketball with 32 seconds to play.
 
After taking a timeout to draw up a play, Malone came out of the break with a full shot clock and just a two-second differential in the game clock. Instead of dribbling down to the final few seconds, Malone took its shot attempt at the 11-second mark when Rachel Goddard's contested jumper in the paint hit the back iron. The Cavaliers hauled in the defensive rebound and hit the ground running. Hochstedler spotted Clopton driving into paint and hit her with a perfect chest pass from half court. Clopton layed it up and in to give Walsh a 62-60 lead with 2.5 seconds remaining.
 
The Pioneers had one final chance to tie the game after advancing the ball to their side of the court, but McCue's mid-range jumper was long and Walsh prevailed. The Cavaliers climbed to 2-2 on the year and 4-0 in the last four meetings with Malone. With the loss, Malone dropped to 0-2 on the young season.
 
Game Highlights
-Through three quarters, Malone shot 44.2% (19-43) from the floor but shot just 3-of-13 (23.1%) in the fourth quarter.
-The Cavaliers shot just 31.8% (14-44) through three quarters, but made 53.3% (8-of-15) of their fourth-quarter shots.
-The Pioneers held a 39-33 rebounding advantage and finished 8-of-21 (38.1%) from three-point range
-Malone committed three more turnovers (16-13) than Walsh as the Cavaliers totaled 11 steals
-Malone recorded an assist on 17 of its 22 made baskets
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Baylen Dyrlund led Malone with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting
-Rachel Goddard pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds and scored 12 points for her first collegiate double-double. She also dished out five assists
-Hannah McCue also contributed five assists to go along with her 10 points and nine boards
-Chrissie Vaughan and Alaina Schwarz chipped in with nine and seven tallies respectively
 
Walsh Individual Highlights
-Alex Hochstedler collected a game-high seven assists and scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the second half
-Brittni Clopton finished the game with 14 markers on 6-of-9 shooting
-Jalynn Graham added 10 points and a game-high five steals
 
Up Next: Malone will take on a talented Findlay squad at home this Tuesday, November 22nd at 6:00 pm.