Stakes will be high this Saturday when the Malone University women's basketball team takes on a talented Ursuline College squad in an important Great Midwest Athletic Conference showdown in Pepper Pike, Ohio. Malone currently sits in second place and will have the opportunity to climb into first with a win against the soaring Arrows. The Pioneers will have their hands full with Ursuline, who, dating back to last season, has won 15 straight G-MAC contests.
 
GameDay
(1/28) Malone (12-5, 5-1 G-MAC) at Ursuline (14-5, 6-0 G-MAC) – 2:00 PM
Live Video: boxcast.tv/view/basketball-malone-university-at-ursuline-college-362491
Live Stats: sidearmstats.com/ursuline/wbball/
 
All-Time Series
Malone holds a 12-5 all-time advantage over Ursuline. The last time the two schools met in 2013, Malone prevailed 78-70.

Malone Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Pioneers saw their eight-game winning streak snapped in a 73-61 loss to Cedarville last Thursday in which they shot a season-low 31.1%. Two days later, Malone bounced back to defeat Ohio Valley 70-54.
• In the win over Ohio Valley, the trio of Baylen Dyrlund (22), Hannah McCue (19), and Rachel Goddard (15) accounted for a season-high 80% (56 of 70) of the Pioneer points.
• For Dyrlund, it was her second 20-point game in the last three and the third of the season. The efficient scorer is shooting 60.5% from the field over her last eight games.
• On the defensive end, Dyrlund has recorded 10 steals (half of her season total) across the last five games.
• Defensive stalwart Hannah McCue has nine steals and a remarkable 13 blocked shots over that same time frame. She has taken over the league shot blocking average with 1.8 a game while also ranking 3rd in steals (1.9 spg). Offensively, McCue scored 42 points over two games last week and upped her team-leading average to 15.6 points per game.
• McCue climbed to 3rd in the league in scoring and 2nd in rebounding (9.7 rpg). McCue is one of seven players in NCAA DII averaging 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals. One of the other six is Ursuline's Laney Lewis who she will face on Saturday.
• Playmaking guard Rachel Goddard sits in 3rd in the G-MAC, just ahead of Lewis, with 4.8 assists per game. She also remains 4th in the nation with a 3.24 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• A prolific scorer, Goddard is averaging 14.8 points a game, and has netted at least 12 in 14 of 17 games this season. She continues to lead the G-MAC in both free throw attempts (96) and made free throws (82). Her 85.4% success rate is 2nd-best in the conference.
• Starting guards Chrissie Vaughan (7.6 ppg) and Alaina Schwarz (4.4 ppg) have combined for 48 made three-pointers on 38.1% shooting from deep. 
• As a team, Malone is shooting just 26.3% from three-point range over the last seven games. The Pioneers' three-point defense, though, has been outstanding all season, limiting opponents to a league-low 27.3%.
• Overall, Malone is holding opponents to conference-lows 36.1% shooting and 61.1 points per game.
• Saturday will mark the 10th time in 11 games that the Pioneers have played on the road. They are 8-1 in their previous nine.
• The Pioneers are 12-2 in their last 14 games overall.
   

Ursuline Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Last season, the Arrows finished 25-4, won the G-MAC Championship, and qualified for the Midwest Regional before being bounced by NCAA DII #1 Ashland (72-70) in the first round.
• This season the Arrows were tested early and often, starting off 6-5. Since their winter break trip to Hawaii, Ursuline has reeled off eight straight wins by an average of 19 points.
• The entire starting five returned intact from last season's Midwest Regional qualifier as did the top two bench players. All five starters: Laney Lewis (15.6 ppg), Erica Huber (14.9 ppg), Brigan Wymer (13.2 ppg), Natalie Koenig (10.9 ppg), and Camryn Hill (9.8 ppg) rank among the top-20 scorers in the G-MAC.
• Lewis, the defending G-MAC Player of the Year, is 2nd in the nation in rebounds (12.5 rpg) and 7th in double-doubles (11). She also ranks 2nd in the G-MAC in blocks (1.7 bpg), 4th in assists (4.4 apg), and 5th in steals (1.8 spg).
• Huber and Hill were First Team All-Conference a season ago. Huber leads the G-MAC in three-point shooting percentage (44.7%) while Hill is 9th in rebounds (6.7 rpg) and 5th in blocks (1.2 bpg).
• Wymer, Koenig, and reserve guard Christiana Jefferson were all members of the G-MAC Freshmen Team last season. Jefferson ranks 6th in the G-MAC in assists (3.2 apg) and is 2nd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.81).
• As a team, Ursuline is 11th in the nation in assists (17.6 apg) and 25th in three-point shooting (36.8%). Through six conference games, Ursuline is #1 in both scoring offense (79.3 ppg) and scoring defense (60.5 ppg).
• Ursuline and Malone have faced eight common opponents this season. The Arrows are 8-0 while outscoring said opponents by 19.3 ppg. Malone is 5-3 with a +3.4 ppg scoring margin.