The Malone University women's basketball team overcame a 13-point deficit to earn a hard-fought 55-50 win over Florida Tech Monday afternoon in Tampa, Florida. The Pioneers held the Panthers to just 13 second-half points, including four in the fourth quarter, to stop a skid of three straight losses and improve to 3-4 on the season. Florida Tech, meanwhile, drops to 4-5.
 
Recap
The Panthers scored on their first three possessions to open up a 6-0 lead just over a minute into the contest. Malone was held scoreless for the first three minutes until Naomi Grandison knocked down an open three to cut the deficit in half. After falling behind 11-3, Chrissie Vaughan hit back-to-back threes to cut the Malone deficit to two. A pair of Ellen Doyle layups and another Vaughan triple kept the Pioneers within striking distance as they trailed 18-16 headed to the second quarter.
 
Florida Tech, who shot 80% (8-of-10) in the first, made it a 22-16 game with two early baskets in the second quarter before Baylen Dyrlund answered with her first points of the game, scoring on consecutive possessions to cut it to 22-20. From there, the Panthers went on a 15-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 37-24 lead. A Dyrlund layup at the 1:39 mark finally ended the run.
 
After turning the ball over on the next two possessions, Malone forced a Panther turnover with six seconds remaining as Dani Drayer picked off an errant pass. Drayer ran up to midcourt and delivered a behind-the-back pass to Holly Groff, who banked in a 30-footer at the buzzer. The momentum-changing three trimmed the deficit to 37-28 going into the lockerroom.


 
Five straight points from Florida Tech's DeLise Williams increased the lead to 42-29, tying the largest lead of the game, at the 7:09 mark of the third quarter. From that point on, though, the red-hot Panthers, who shot a blistering 69.6% (16-of-23) from the field in the first half, went ice cold thanks in large part to a stingy Malone defense. The Panthers netted just one field goal over the next 15 minutes as the Pioneers began to chip away.
 
A three-pointer by Sydney Wentling, a Dyrlund layup, and six Malone free throws left the Pioneers down by just six, 46-40, going into the fourth quarter.
 
Chrissie Vaughan's sweeping layup at the 7:28 mark in the fourth made it 46-42 before a Doyle layup at the 6:44 mark made it 46-44. Doyle's layup with just under five minutes remaining tied the game for the first time since the opening tip. Doyle then gave Malone its first lead of the game, splitting a pair of free throws with 3:36 left to play.

On the very next trip down the floor, Holly Groff put the Pioneers up by four with a right-wing three-pointer.The Panthers answered, however, with back-to-back layups to tie it up at 50-50 with 1:51 left to play.
 
After trading empty possessions, Malone went back in front for good with 36 seconds left to play. Out of a double team, Dyrlund found Groff open under the basket for the go-ahead layup. The Pioneers then shut down the Panthers on their next two trips down the floor and hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneers limited their opponents to 42.0% shooting overall, including a 5-for-27 (18.5%) figure in the second half and a 2-for-14 (14.3%) mark in the final quarter.
-Malone finished 18-of-41 (43.9%) from the field, 7-of-16 (43.8%) from three and 12-of-20 (60%) from the free throw line.
-Florida Tech outscored Malone 32-18 in the paint and outrebounded the Pioneers 31-27
-Malone was guilty of 22 turnovers, compared to 19 for the Panthers, but held an 18-14 advantage in points off of turnovers.
-The 13-point deficit was the largest lead overcome since coming back from 18 down against Davis & Elkins in January. The Pioneers also overcame a 14-point deficit to Caldwell in the first game of their Christmas break trip last year.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Ellen Doyle was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 5-of-7 at the free throw line on her way to a career-high 15 points in just 20 minutes off the bench.
-Baylen Dyrlund finished with 14 points and two assists
-Chrissie Vaughan chipped in with 12 points and team-high six rebounds. She was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc
-Holly Groff knocked down a pair of three-pointers and the go-ahead basket as she ended the day with eight points, four rebounds, and two assists
 
Florida Tech Highlights
-Delise Williams scored a team-high 13 points with three steals
-Iceland native Gudlaug Juliusdottir totaled 10 points, five assists, and four steals
-Kailyn Ebb added eight points and a game-high nine rebounds
 
Up Next
The Pioneers will play their second game in two days when they take on the University of Tampa Tuesday, December 19th at 2:00 pm