The Malone University women's basketball team survived a scare from Alderson Broaddus University, but held off a late rally Saturday afternoon before earning a 74-65 home victory. Leading by as many as 29 points, the Pioneers saw their advantage trimmed to single digits late in the fourth quarter but managed to hold off AB's comeback to secure their seventh straight victory. Malone senior point guard Rachel Goddard scored a game-high 24 points, including 15 in the second half to pace the Pioneers.
 
 Facing a 5-5 deadlock early in the first period, the Pioneers opened up the contest with an 11-0 run, capped off by a Goddard layup, to go ahead 16-5. Holly Groff's layup following a Battlers' three-pointer made it 18-8 as Malone maintained a 10-point advantage after one.
 
In a back-and-forth second period, Malone saw its lead trimmed down to seven points (32-25) on another Battler three late in the frame. The Pioneers responded with an 8-0 run on back-to-back threes from Groff and Chrissie Vaughan and a late basket from Rachel Goddard to close out the half up 40-25.
 
The Pioneers' lead swelled to 56-27 on a 16-2 run over the first five and a half minutes of the third quarter before Alderson Broaddus began to storm back. A three-pointer from AB's Jordan Parker sparked a 9-2 run to close out the quarter with Malone still leading 58-36.
 
An aggressive Alderson Broaddus defense confounded the Pioneers who went without a field goal for the final two minutes of the third and the first eight minutes of the fourth. Despite not making a field goal, Malone collected nine free throws during the stretch and still led 69-53 with two minutes to go. Another AB three-pointer sparked a 10-2 run over the next 90 seconds that trimmed the lead to 71-63 and made the game uncomfortably close.
 
With just under 30 seconds to play, Malone drained three throws down the stretch to hang on for the 74-65 victory. With the win, the Pioneers improved to 19-6 on the season and 11-2 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.  By virtue of Ursuline's win over Davis & Elkins on Saturday, Malone became locked into the #2 seed in the G-MAC Tournament. The Pioneers will host first-place Ursuline next Saturday.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone converted 14 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and 19 of 23 (82.6%) in the game.
-From the field, the Pioneers shot 43.1% (25-for-58) but tied a season-low with just five threes on 20 attempts (25.0%)
-The visitors converted just 33.8% (23-of-68) of the their field goal tries but were 12-of-13 (92.3%) at the line.
-Malone held a 32-26 edge in points in the paint and a 42-38 rebounding advantage.
-Alderson Broaddus forced Malone into 15 turnovers and outscored the Pioneers 22-18 in points off turnovers.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Rachel Goddard scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half. She finished the day 8-of-11 from the field, 1-of-2 from three, and 7-of-7 at the free throw line. She added four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
-Hannah McCue contributed 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
-Baylen Dyrlund added 11 points and nine boards.
-Holly Groff chipped in with seven points and three rebounds off the bench.
-Chrissie Vaughan totaled five points, four boards, two assists, and two steals.
 
Alderson Broaddus Individual Highlights
-Guard Lorin Clark, who came into the week leading the nation in assists, led the Battlers with 16 points, six assists, and four steals.
-Jordan Parker tallied 14 points and seven rebounds.
-Yasmin Norman checked in with 12 points, a game-high 13 rebounds, and two steals.
 
Up Next:
Malone will return home on Tuesday February 21st for a 7:00 pm non-conference contest with Bluefield State. The Pioneers defeated the Blues 83-46 in December.