The Malone University women's basketball team suffered a 74-53 setback to Davis & Elkins College Thursday night on the road. The loss left the Pioneers at 7-10 on the season and 5-8 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. D&E, meanwhile, completed the season sweep of Malone and improved to 6-12 overall and 4-10 in the G-MAC.
 
Recap
Naomi Grandison and Holly Groff combined to score 16 of Malone's 18 first-quarter points as the Pioneers led after 18-12 after one. The pair scored all 11 points during an 11-2 run over the first four minutes of the game as the Pioneers seemed to be in control against the Senators, who came in having lost four in a row. The nine-point advantage proved to be the largest of the game and neither Grandison nor Groff would score again.
 
Despite being held to just 10 points in the second quarter, Malone maintained a 28-26 edge at halftime.
 
That halftime advantage would last just two more minutes before a jumper from D&E's Aliyah Dukes gave the Senators their first lead of the game at 30-28. The two teams exchanged the lead two more times before a pair of free throws put the hosts up 32-31 and gave them the lead for good. The Pioneers were then outscored 42-22 over the final 16 minutes as they endured their second worst loss of the season.
 
Game Highlights
-Malone shot just 34.5% (19-for-55) from the field and 25.0% (5-of-20) from three. The Pioneers made only one three-pointer over the final three quarters.
-Davis & Elkins drained 11 of their 27 three-point attempts (40.7%) and finished 25-for-54 (46.3%) from the field overall.
-The Senators held a 39-32 edge in rebounds and a 13-7 advantage in points off of turnovers.
-Malone, the top free-throw shooting team in the conference, did not visit the line until the second half, but made 10-of-14 freebies.
-D&E netted 13-of-18 at the charity stripe.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Baylen Dyrlund and Chrissie Vaughan each finished with a team-high 10 points. Dyrlund added six rebounds while Vaughan collected two steals.
-Naomi Grandison canned three first-quarter threes to finish with nine points.
-Holly Groff tallied seven points, four boards and two assists.
-Dani Drayer chipped in with five points, a block, and a steal
 
Davis & Elkins Individual Highlights
-Aliyah Dukes, the G-MAC's third-leading scorer, recorded a game-high 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting and a 6-of-9 effort from three-point range.
-Sydney Turner totaled 15 points and seven rebounds.
-Kali Wilburn posted 14 points, 15 rebounds, and three steals.
 
Up Next
The Pioneers will go for a season sweep of Alderson Broaddus when they take on the Battlers this Saturday, January 27th at 2:00 pm.