The Malone University women's basketball team will begin its Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) title defense with two home contests against Alderson Broaddus University and Davis & Elkins College on Thursday, November 30th and Saturday, December 2nd respectively. The Pioneer women will follow the Pioneer men's team on both days and at all home doubleheaders this season.
 
GameDay
11/30 Malone vs. Alderson Broaddus – 8:00 pm
12/2 Malone vs. Davis & Elkins - 3:00 pm
Live Video/Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
 
Series History
Malone is 4-1 all-time versus Alderson Broaddus, including two wins over the Battlers last season. The Pioneers picked up two wins over Davis & Elkins in the first two meetings between the two schools last winter.

Malone Notes

• The Pioneers enter the week with a 1-1 record following a season-opening 80-68 win at Lake Superior State and a 71-61 loss to Northwood in a non-conference matchup last Wednesday.
• Junior forward Naomi Grandison scored a team-high 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, two blocks, and a two steals against Northwood. Grandison, who is 4-of-6 from three-point range, leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and is 6th in the G-MAC in rebounding (9.5 rpg).
• Senior forward Baylen Dyrlund, who is averaging 13.5 points a game, ranks 7th in the G-MAC with 9.0 rebounds a game. Dyrlund collected her fourth double-double as a Pioneer, finishing with 11 points with a career-high-matching 13 rebounds. Dyrlund scored 17 points with 13 rebounds in a comeback win over Davis & Elkins at home last season.
• Sophomore point guard Holly Groff was the third Pioneer to reach double-digit scoring vs. Northwood, tossing in 11 points along with six assists, five rebounds, two steals and zero turnovers.
• Through two games, Groff is 2nd in the country in assists per game (7.5) and 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio (7.5).
• The Pioneers as a team lead DII in free throw shooting, making 29-of-33 freebies for an 87.9% success rate. Malone is also currently10th in the nation in three-point percentage at 40.9%.
• Sydney Wentling is 4-of-6 from long range and is averaging 9.0 points a game while Paiten Strother (6.5 ppg) is 3-of-4 from deep.
• Junior guard Chrissie Vaughan is 4-of-10 from beyond the arc and has 16 points on the season. She went over 500 career points in the win over Lake Superior State.
• Vaughan knocked down seven threes on her way to a season-high 24 points in a win at Davis & Elkins this past February. That come-from-behind win over the Senators was part of a string of nine straight victories over G-MAC opponents for the Pioneers to end the year.
• Malone went on to finish 14-2 in the conference last season including its two wins in the G-MAC Tournament. The Pioneers were 7-0 at home in league games.

 

Alderson Broaddus Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Battlers were doubled up, 96-48, in their season-opening loss to Midwest Regional qualifier Bellarmine two weeks ago. Senior guard Jordan Parker scored a team-high nine points in the defeat.
• Parker, a 2016-17 Second Team G-MAC All-Conference selection, averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game a season ago.
• Junior forward Yasmin Norman chipped in with nine points and a team-high six rebounds at Bellarmine. Norman led AB in rebounding last season (5.8 rpg) despite standing just 5'7".
• The Battlers finished 10-19 last season and 4-10 in conference. They were bounced by Cedarville in the G-MAC Quarterfinal round.
• In Canton last season, Malone defeated AB 74-65 in a game in which the Battlers trimmed a 29-point deficit to eight in the final minute. In a 77-70 loss to Malone in West Virginia last January, they trimmed a 19-point disadvantage to just two in the fourth quarter.
• Alderson Broaddus, who graduated six seniors from last year's squad, including point guard Lorin Clark, who finished 3rd in DII in assists (6.8 apg), was picked 12th out of 13 teams in the G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

 

Davis & Elkins Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Senators, who face Walsh in North Canton on Thursday before coming to Malone on Saturday, enter the week with a 1-2 record. Following losses to NCAA DII #18 Michigan Tech and Ferris State to start the season, D&E picked up its first victory with a 121-53 rout of Penn State Beaver.
• True freshman guard Colleena Burdock scored a team-high 24 points with 10 assists in the win. She is averaging 16.7 ppg through her first three collegiate games. Burdock was a 2,000-point scorer in high school and a state champion track athlete.
• Junior forward Kali Wilburn is averaging 10.7 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds a night. Wilburn led the G-MAC in shooting percentage (61.1%) last season.
• Davis & Elkins went 19-10 in 2016-17 (7-7 G-MAC) and advanced to the G-MAC semifinal before losing to Ursuline. The Senators graduated three seniors from last season's squad, including First Team G-MAC All-Conference guard Stephanie Wooten who finished 4th in the country in scoring (22.2 ppg) and 6th in assists (6.3 apg).
• The Senators lost an 18-point first-half lead to Malone in a 73-64 defeat in Canton last season. They squandered a 13-point lead in a 77-72 loss to Malone in Elkins in February.
• D&E was voted 10th in the preseason coaches poll.