The Malone University women's basketball team improved its record to 10-4 on the season and 3-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with a 62-43 road victory over Trevecca Nazarene University Thursday night in Nashville. The Pioneers overcame a season-high 23 turnovers with a season-high 56 rebounds as Malone's stingy unit dominated the glass and held the Trojans to just 23.7% shooting
 
In what figured to be a low-scoring affair, Malone had little trouble putting up points early on. Senior point guard Rachel Goddard scored seven of Malone's first eight points and fellow senior guard Mackenzie Storlie hit back-to-back threes to give Malone a 14-4 advantage through the first six minutes. Layups by Holly Groff and Naomi Grandison and an athletic put-back layup by Hannah McCue gave the Pioneers 20 points through the opening quarter. The Pioneer defense, which came into the game ranked #1 in the G-MAC, set the tone early by holding the hosts to just nine points on 3-of-14 (21.4%) shooting.
 
In a much more competitive second quarter, Malone shot 3-of-13 from the field while the Trojans started to knock down their shots. After going down by as many as 13 points, Trevecca managed to cut the lead to as little as five (28-23) with 1:32 left in the quarter. A Baylen Dyrlund free throw and a Dani Drayer buzzer-beating jumper off an offensive rebound made it 31-23 at the break.
 
Drayer, who was making her first career start in the contest, netted the Pioneers' first points of the second half with a wing three-pointer to put Malone up by nine at 34-25. Five straight points by Hannah McCue later in the period gave Malone a double-digit lead, but the stubborn Trojans, who forced the Pioneers into nine third-quarter turnovers, would cut the lead to single digits on two separate occasions with a pair of three-pointers.
 
Leading by just seven (41-34) with 2:18 left in the third quarter, the Pioneers, now winners of eight straight overall, pieced together another one of their patented second-half runs. An uncontested layup by Rachel Goddard and a three-ball by Chrissie Vaughan made it 46-34 headed into the fourth. The Pioneers began the fourth with eight straight points to open up a 20-point advantage. The 13-0 run, highlighted by a Goddard overhead bounce pass to a streaking Drayer for a fastbreak layup, put the game well out of reach.
 
The Pioneers held Trevecca to just two fourth-quarter field goals as they used another defensive gem to cruise to the 62-43 road victory. The win marked the first time since the 2013-14 season that Malone reached 10 or more wins.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneers held the Trojans to just 14 field goals on 59 attempts (23.7%). Malone, meanwhile, finished 22-for-57 (38.6%) from the floor.
-Malone held a +28 rebounding advantage over the Trojans. The 56 rebounds were the most by the Pioneers since November of 2013.
-The Trojans were able to convert 23 Malone turnovers into 19 points.
-The Pioneers outscored TNU 26-8 in the paint and 15-2 on second chance points. Malone also blocked a season-high seven shots.
-Both teams struggled from the free-throw line. Trevecca was just 8-for-14 (57.1%) while a normally reliable Malone squad was 11-of-20 (55.0%) from the charity stripe
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Rachel Goddard stuffed the statsheet as she usually does, finishing with a game-high 13 points and six assists to go along with seven rebounds and blocked shot.
-Chrissie Vaughan knocked down a trio of three-pointers and finished with 11 points. She added a career-high 10 rebounds for her first-career double-double.
-Despite poor shooting and 11 combined turnovers between the two of them, Baylen Dyrlund (eight points, eight rebounds) and Hannah McCue (eight points, 11 rebounds) each flirted with double-doubles. Dyrlund tied a season-high with four steals while McCue tied a season-high with three blocks.
-Dani Drayer totaled seven points and five rebounds while Naomi Grandison added four points and six rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.
 
Trevecca Nazarene Highlights
-Kiersten Hunter was the lone Trojan to reach double figures as she ended the night with 11 points and three assists.
-Adi Hale added seven points and three steals. Hale, who came into the conference ranked second in the G-MAC in three-point shooting, was held to just 1-of-6 shooting from deep.
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers will remain in the south for a tough road matchup with 11-2 Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday, January 14th. Preview notes for Saturday's 2:00 PM ET (1:00 PM CT) showdown are available by clicking here.