The Malone University women's basketball team made its first ever game in the state of New Jersey a successful one by overcoming a 14-point third-quarter deficit to upset a 9-1 Caldwell University squad 79-73 on its home court behind a season-high 29 points from senior point guard Rachel Goddard. With the win, Malone improved to 5-4 on the year and climbed above .500 for the first time since being 2-1 a season ago.
 
The Pioneers had the hot hand early on, opening up a five-point lead midway through the first quarter when back-to-back threes by Chrissie Vaughan and Rachel Goddard and a jumper by Baylen Dyrlund gave Malone a 16-11 advantage. From that point on, though, the Pioneers missed their next 15 shots as Caldwell turned a five-point deficit into a six-point lead as Malone's nearly seven-minute scoring drought carried the two teams into the second quarter.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Chrissie Vaughan finally stopped the bleeding and cut the Caldwell lead to just 22-21 three and a half minutes into the second quarter. Despite continued shooting struggles throughout the second quarter, Malone did enough defensively to keep the score within five points and entered the half trailing 37-32.
 
After a Goddard layup cut the deficit to 37-34 a minute into the second half, the Cougars went on a 21-10 scoring run to go ahead 58-44 with 3:05 remaining in the third quarter. Down by 14 points, senior forward Hannah McCue put the Pioneers back in the game with eight straight points, including back-to-back threes that cut the lead to 58-52. Caldwell would go on to take a 61-54 advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
The first points of the fourth quarter would not come until the 7:33 mark when Goddard's second three-pointer of the game made it 61-57. Caldwell answered with a three to go back up by seven before a McCue baseline jumper made it 64-59 before a with 7:02 to go
 
Trailing by five, Goddard scored 11 of Malone's next 14 points during a 14-4 run that gave the Pioneers a 73-68 advantage. A Goddard layup and pair of free throws made it 64-63 before a clutch three-pointer by Chrissie Vaughan at the top of the arc tied the game up at 66-66. Back-to-back driving layups by Goddard gave Malone its first lead since the first quarter and her corner three at the 2:03 mark gave Malone a 73-68 lead that would effectively put the game out of reach.
 
Playing keep away for the final two minutes, the Pioneers knocked down six of their 10 free throws down the stretch to hang on for the hard-fought and well-earned non-conference road victory.
 
Game Highlights
-After shooting just 12-for-38 (31.6%) in the first half, Malone came on strong late, shooting 57.7% (15-for-26) over the final 20 minutes. The Pioneers finished 27-for-64 (42.2%) from the field for the game.
-Caldwell shot just 5-of-15 (33.3%) in the all-important fourth quarter and finished the game with a nearly identical 26-65 (40.0%) mark from the field.
-Both teams connected on nine made three-point field goals
The Pioneers made 16-of-24 free throws while the Cougars were 12-of-20 at the charity stripe
-The difference in the game may have come on the glass as Malone held a 46-38 rebounding edge and turned 15 offensive boards into a 16-11 advantage in second-chance points
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Rachel Goddard came within two points of matching her career-high, finishing with 29 points (10-16 FG, 3-5 3PT, 6-7 FT), including 15 in the fourth quarter. She added five rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal in the valiant effort
-Hannah McCue scored 11 of her 18 points (6-12 FG, 2-3 3PT, 4-7 FT) in the third quarter. The consistent senior produced her sixth double-double of the year, matching a season-high with 12 rebounds to go along with a pair of assists and pair of blocks.
-Chrissie Vaughan continued to stroke it from beyond the arc, finishing with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep.
-Baylen Dyrlund got herself out of a mini slump with 12 points and nine rebounds
-Mackenzie Storlie scored all four Malone bench points while pulling down four rebounds, dishing out three assists, and recording two steals in a season-high 20 minutes
 
Caldwell Individual Highlights
-Kristin Drogsler, who came into the game ranked 10th in the nation averaging 21.4 ppg, led the Cougars with 27 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, four steals, and two blocks in a tremendous performance in a losing effort.
-Antoinette Pilla and Maura Kelly added 13 and 12 points respectively.
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers will be right back at it tomorrow afternoon when they meet Nyack (NY) at 1:00 pm Saturday. Preview notes with links to live stats and video are available by clicking here.