The Malone University women's basketball team will host rival Walsh University this Saturday in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) showdown at 3:00 pm following the men's game at 1:00. Saturday's meeting will be the first between the two teams since Malone captured the Mayors' Cup in North Canton last New Year's Eve. The Pioneers enter the game with a 7-8 record, including a 5-6 mark in conference. The Cavaliers, in their first season in the G-MAC, are 9-7 overall with a 6-4 record in league play.

GameDay
1/20 Malone vs. Walsh – 3:00 pm
Saturday's men's and women's doubleheader will be streamed live at: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Fans can also listen live on ESPN 990 AM radio or www.espn990.com/listen.php
 
Series History
Malone is 36-42 in 78 all-time meetings with the Cavs. Prior to the 74-66 win at Walsh last season, the Pioneers had dropped four straight to the team up north, including a difficult 62-60 home setback earlier in the season in which they squandered a 14-point third-quarter lead and lost the game on a buzzer-beating layup. In the bounce-back Mayors' Cup victory, a Dani Drayer three-pointer in the final seconds of the third-quarter sparked a 23-2 run the Pioneers used to pull away for the win.

Malone Notes

• This year's team is beginning to look more and more like last year's team that eventually went on to win 16 of their next 18 games following the Walsh victory, including the G-MAC Championship. The Pioneers have won four of their last five and will carry a three-game win streak into the rivalry game for the second straight season after winning three games in a five-day span.
• The Pioneer defense, which ranked last in DII in opponents' field goal defense at 47.1% through the first 10 games, has been significantly better over the last five games, limiting opponents to a 38.6% shooting mark. Malone held Ohio Valley to just 32.1% from the field in a 69-54 win over the Fighting Scots on Monday.
• Offensively, Malone, which was held to 55 points or fewer during a sluggish four-game stretch in December, found its rhythm last week, averaging 76 points per game while shooting 48.8% over the three victories.
• Baylen Dyrlund has led the offensive resurgence, posting 18 ppg and a 58.8% mark from the field over the past three contests. On the year, she is up to 14.4 points a night and has climbed into 9th on the G-MAC scoring list.
• Dyrlund also leads Malone and ranks 12th in the conference with 6.2 rebounds a game. The senior forward scored 15 points in the win over Walsh last December after scoring a team-high 18 at home against Walsh a month prior.
• Pioneer point guard Holly Groff, the reigning G-MAC Player of the Week, scored her first collegiate points in that loss to Walsh last season. This year she is averaging 9.9 points and is 3rd in the G-MAC with 4.1 assists per game.
• Junior guard Chrissie Vaughan has seen her scoring pace climb to 10.9 points per game following her 5th straight double-digit performance on Monday.
• Vaughan, who is 6th in the G-MAC in made threes per game (2.5), is one of three players in the conference with at least one made three in every game this season. She has made at least two three-pointers in all four career games against Walsh.
• Paiten Strother has made at least one three in six straight, shooting 50% (14-for-28) from deep while scoring 9.1 ppg over that span.
• Over her last four games, sophomore Sydney Wentling has settled in as a viable scoring threat for the Pioneers, averaging 12.3 points per and reaching double-digits in all four games.
• Wentling, who is shooting a team-high 89.7% (26-for-29) at the free throw line, is one of seven Pioneers shooting better than 75% from the line. As a team, Malone is 10th in DII in free-throw percentage (79.8%).
• Naomi Grandison, an 89.5% free throw shooter, is averaging 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds and has a team-high seven blocks, but has missed each of the last three games with injury.
• In her stead, Keri Hill has filled in nicely over the past three games, collecting 13 points and 16 rebounds in 45 minutes off the bench.
• The Pioneers come into Saturday's game in a three-way tie for 7th place in the G-MAC standings with Kentucky Wesleyan and Lake Erie. Walsh, meanwhile, is in 5th place through 10 conference games.

Walsh  Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Cavaliers (9-7, 6-4 G-MAC) are coming off a 1-1 week that featured an 86-58 home win over Lake Erie on Saturday and a 76-59 home loss to Ursuline on Thursday. Walsh comes to Osborne Hall on Saturday just 2-4 on the road.
• Defense has been the story this season for the Cavaliers, who have held five of their last six opponents to 60 points or fewer. In conference-only games this season Walsh leads the G-MAC in scoring defense (62.0 ppg) and three-point defense (29.1%). They also rank 2nd in scoring margin (+9.2 ppg), 3rd in field goal defense (40.0%), and 4th in steals (9.9 spg).
• The Cavalier offense is led by senior guard Alex Hochstedler who scores a team-high 11.7 points a night. Hochstedler, the only Cav to average double figures, totaled 44 points (22 ppg) against Malone last season.
• Freshman forward Mayci Sales (8.4 rpg) leads the team in rebounds (5.0 rpg). Sales scored a season-high 20 points vs. Lake Erie on Saturday.