Interview with Coach Tice and Guard Rachel Goddard

The Malone University women's basketball team did the unthinkable Saturday, upsetting #1 seed and defending champions Ursuline College on the Arrows' home floor to claim its first-ever Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship in its first year in the new league.

The Pioneers overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit before prevailing with a 72-64 victory. Malone battled back with a 22-7 fourth quarter to defeat the Arrows for the second time in a week span. By virtue of their G-MAC Championship, the Pioneers earned an automatic bid into next week's NCAA DII Women's National Tournament for the first time in team history.
 
Recap
In a back-and-forth affair from the get go, the lead exchanged hands seven times in the opening quarter. The Pioneers took their first lead of the game when Rachel Goddard, who was a perfect 7-for-7 from three-point range in the semifinal round, cashed in another three to put Malone ahead 7-4 four minutes into the quarter. Malone would lead three more times, the third time on a Baylen Dyrlund triple, before falling behind 15-14. It was Goddard again who beat the first-quarter buzzer, just as she had the night before, to give the Pioneers a 16-15 edge after one. Malone was a red-hot 7-of-9 from the field in the period but committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers
 
Malone would be held scoreless for the first three-and-half minutes of the second before Hannah McCue netted a pair of free throws to put her team up 18-17. A McCue three-pointer and pair of Goddard jumpers put Malone up 30-27 later in the quarter, but Ursuline ended the half with five straight points to take a 32-20 lead into the break.
 
By halftime, Malone had committed 12 turnovers but kept the game close with a 63% (12-of-19) shooting effort. The Pioneer defense, which has been brilliant all season, limited the Arrows to just 12-of-33 (36.4%) shooting over the first 20 minutes. In what had the makings of an instant classic before the game even started, neither team led by more than three points in the first half.
 
Ursuline would be the first team to lead by more than one possession when Natalie Koenig's three gave the Arrows a 35-30 lead less than a minute into the second half. Malone answered with back-to-back buckets from Dyrlund and McCue before Ursuline, who came into the game with the league's #1 ranked offense started to heat up. Over the next three minutes, the Arrows put together a 13-4 run as the Pioneer bigs (Hannah McCue, Baylen Dyrlund, and Naomi Grandison) began to get in foul trouble.
 
Down 50-40 with less than five minutes to play in the third, the Pioneers began to chip away. Across the next 90 seconds, clutch three-pointers from Mackenzie Storlie and Rachel Goddard, and a McCue jumper trimmed the deficit to 52-48. Ursuline used an and-1 opportunity late in the third quarter that made it 57-50 going into the fourth. The Arrows outscored Malone 25-20 in the frame while shooting 57.9% (11-of-19) from the field.
 
As good as Ursuline's top-ranked offense was in the third quarter, Malone's #1 ranked defense was even better in the fourth quarter as they would hold the Arrows to 2-of-11 (18.2%) shooting while forcing Ursuline into six fourth-quarter turnovers.
 
Down by seven points entering the fourth, Malone quickly erased the lead with nine straight points over the first three minutes and change. Goddard buried yet another three-pointer to spark the run before two McCue free throws and then two more Malone baskets gave the visitors a 59-57 lead.
 
Two-time G-MAC Player of the Year Laney Lewis would finally give the Arrows their first points of the quarter and a 59-59 tie at the 6:52 mark. A minute later, Ursuline regained the lead on a pair of Koenig free throws. Malone would split the lead in half when Dyrlund hit the second of two free throws to make it 61-60 with 5:34 remaining.
 
Still trailing with just over three minutes to play, sophomore guard Chrissie Vaughan put the Pioneers in front with a contested runner off the glass. After trading empty possessions, Naomi Grandison scored on a driving layup on which she was fouled on the play. With a chance to give Malone a two-score lead, Grandison missed her free throw attempt as the Pioneers lead remained 64-61 with 1:13 to play.
 
Still standing as a one-possession game after the miss, Ursuline's All-Conference senior guard Erica Huber made Malone pay with a three-pointer at the 1:03 mark that knotted it up at 64-64.
 
Grandison, who was on the floor in place of McCue, who fouled out with seven minutes to play, answered back with the biggest shot of her life. After watching nearly the whole shot clock wind down, the sophomore forward drilled a step-back three-pointer from the top of the key to give Malone the 67-64 lead with 34 seconds to play. The Malone faithful, which came out in full support of their Pioneers, went wild as they knew Malone was on the verge of something special.
 
Grandison's triple proved to be the game-winner as Lewis missed the potential game-tying three pointer on the next possession. Storlie and Vaughan would combine to hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to help seal their fate as the Pioneers put the finishing touches on their 11th straight victory.
 
The 2017 G-MAC Title is the Pioneers' first outright women's basketball conference championship since 1983. The Championship was Malone's second-ever in any sport in the new conference and the first by a women's team. 

Game Highlights
-The Pioneers finished the afternoon 24-of-46 (52.2%) from the field, marking their second-highest shooting clip of the season. Malone was also 7-of-19 (36.8%) from the three-point range, and 17-of-23 (73.9%) from the charity stripe.
-The Arrows finished the day just 25-for-63 (39.7%) from the field, 6-of-20 (30%) from beyond the arc, and 8-for-15 (53.3%) at the line.
-Malone maintained a slim 30-28 rebounding advantage, but Ursuline turned 13 offensive rebounds into a 13-5 edge in second chance points.
-The Arrows also turned also turned the Pioneers 17 turnovers into a 20-9 lead in points off of turnovers.
-Malone got it done where it mattered most, holding the Arrows to their lowest scoring total in their last 19 games.
-Overall, the Championship showdown featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes.

Malone Individual Highlights
-Senior point guard Rachel Goddard put together another special performance, totaling 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting (3-5 3 PT) and dishing out seven assists, including the pass on Grandison's game-winner.
-Senior forward Hannah McCue had an outstanding game, tallying 17 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block.
-Baylen Dyrlund was outstanding as well, contributing 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and a team-high nine rebounds.
-Mackenzie Storlie scored all nine of her points in the second half while adding a block and a steal. She iced it for Malone, going 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
-Naomi Grandison scored all five of her points in the final 75 seconds of the game.
 
Ursuline Individual Highlights
-Natalie Koenig scored a team-high 20 points and recorded four steals.
-Laney Lewis collected 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, a block, and a steal.
-Camryn Hill posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers will await the NCAA DII women's basketball Selection Show which will air on NCAA.com Sunday night at 10:00 pm. The event can be seen at www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2017/03/05