The Malone University women's basketball team came up short at the University of Findlay on Saturday, falling to the Oilers 53-47. The 100 combined points marked the lowest in a game since Malone and Lake Erie combined to score 98  (Malone lost 46-52) during the 2015-16 season. With the loss, Malone dropped to 2-4 on the season and 1-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference while Findlay won its seventh straight game to improve to 7-1 on the year and 3-0 in the G-MAC.
 
Recap
The Pioneers were held scoreless over the first four and a half minutes as the Oilers opened up a 9-0 advantage, their largest of the game. Senior forward Baylen Dyrlund, who did not play in Malone's loss to Hillsdale on Thursday, came off the bench to score Malone's first seven points before Sydney Wentling hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the first quarter to trim Findlay's lead to 14-10.
 
Malone scored on its first two possessions of the second quarter to take a 15-14 lead. A Dyrlund layup and a Naomi Grandison three-pointer capped off the 8-0 run. The Pioneers then went on a five-minute scoring drought as the hosts used a 7-0 run to take a 21-15 lead. Grandison halted the skid with another three-pointer at the 4:18 mark to cut it to 21-18, but the Pioneers managed just one more field goal, an Ellen Doyle put-back layup, the rest of the half. Despite making just eight first-half baskets, Malone did enough defensively to keep within three possessions at 27-20 going into halftime.
 
The Pioneer defense held the Oilers to just two field goals over the first seven minutes of the third quarter and erased their halftime deficit. Five straight points by Holly Groff to start the half and another Grandison triple highlighted a 12-5 run that tied the game up at 32-32. The Oilers responded immediately with four straight points before a three-pointer by Chrissie Vaughan moved the deficit back down to one. A Findlay layup in the final seconds of the third left the hosts up 38-35 going into the final frame.
 
Malone cut to within one point two more times on a Wentling layup and a Paiten Strother three before a pair of free throws from Dyrlund allowed the Pioneers to take their first lead, 42-41, since the early minutes of the second quarter at the 7:27 mark in the fourth.
 
Findlay answered with five straight points and eventually took a six-point lead at 50-44 with 3:26 remaining. The Pioneers then went cold missing their next five shots, but cut the lead to 50-46 on a pair of free throws from Vaughan with 54 seconds left to play.
 
Malone forced an Oiler turnover on the ensuing possession, but with a chance to make it a one-possession game, committed its own costly turnover with 27 seconds left. Findlay hit three free throws down the stretch to come away with the grind-it-out win.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneer defense limited the potent UF offense to a season-low 53 points, seven fewer than the previous high of 60.
-The Oilers finished a season-low 44.9% (22-49) from the field, 27.3% (3-11) from three, and 40% (6-15) at the free-throw line.
-The Malone offense struggled, though, making just 16-of-47 (34.0%) of its shots from the field and 8-of-28 (28.6%) of its three-point tries.
-The Oilers outrebounded Malone 34-31 and held a 32-14 edge in points in the paint.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Baylen Dyrlund scored a game-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds
-Naomi Grandison knocked down all three of her three-pointers to finish with nine points
-Sydney Wentling added six points and a team-high six rebounds
-Holly Groff chipped in with five points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal
 
Findlay Individual Highlights
-Despite battling foul trouble, Anna Hintz scored a team-high 13 points with five rebounds in 19 minutes
-Jenna Stegmaier scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting
-Haley Horstman contributed 10 points, nine rebounds, and four steals
 
Up Next
Malone will travel to Tampa, Florida over Christmas break to take on Florida Tech and the University of Tampa on December 18-19 in a pair of non-conference matchups.