The Malone University women's basketball team fell to 3-4 on the season after dropping a 76-58 decision to Clarion University (PA) Wednesday evening on the road. Malone fell behind midway through the second quarter and never regained its footing as the Golden Eagles took advantage of a poor shooting performance by the Pioneers to come away with the non-conference victory.
 
Malone seemed to be in control early on, going up by as many six points in the first quarter when Rachel Goddard's and-1 opportunity put the Pioneers up 12-6. The trigger-happy Golden Eagles fought back to tie it up before the end of the first quarter. After missing 10 straight three-pointers to start the game, Clarion used back-to-back treys to knot it up at 14-14 through one.
 
After shooting just 6-for-17 (35.3%) in the first quarter, Malone continued to struggled from the field in the second stanza, knocking down just 4-of-14 (28.6%) shot attempts and 1-of-7 (14.3%) three-point tries. Clarion took advantage of the Malone shooting woes, outscoring the Pioneers 20-10 to open up a 34-24 halftime lead.
 
The iron remained unkind for Malone in the third period as the Pioneers' problems persisted. The Pioneers netted just 3-of-15 (20.0%) third-quarter shot attempts while the Golden Eagles shot a robust 72.7% (8-11) from the field to increase their lead to 54-39.
 
The Malone offense finally came around in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, but the Malone defense failed to slow down a red-hot Clarion offense as the Golden Eagles increased their lead to as many as 22 points before securing the 76-58 home victory.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone shot just 28.3% through three quarters and finished the game 32.6% from the field.
-Clarion shot 57.1% in the second half and 43.1% for the game. The Golden Eagles outscored Malone 62-44 over the final three quarters.
-Clarion held a commanding 45-35 rebounding edge, pulling down 14 offensive rebounds including 11 in the first half.
-Malone managed 12 offensive rebounds and held a 15-12 edge in second-chance points, but failed to overcome the deficiencies on the both the offensive and defensive ends.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Alaina Schwarz tallied a season-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting
-Hannah McCue, who was hindered by first-half foul trouble, totaled 13 points, eight rebounds, and two steals in 21 minutes
-Rachel Goddard added nine points, four assists, and two steals
-Baylen Dyrlund provided four steals in addition to her six points and five rebounds
-Chrissie Vaughan contributed six points on a pair of three-pointers.
 
Clarion Individual Highlights
-Quorea Pearyer scored a game-high 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds
-Jen Straw added 11 points (1-4 FG, 9-10 FT) and nine boards in 22 minutes off the bench
-Tyra Polite added 14 points and seven boards
-Jordan Bekelja totaled 10 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
 
Up Next: The Pioneers will have two days off before returning to the hardwood this Saturday, December 10th when they host Carlow (PA) at 1:00 pm.