The Malone University women's basketball team continued its recent dominance of Trevecca Nazarene University, picking up a 54-46 road victory over the Trojans Thursday night in Nashville, Tennessee. With the win, Malone improved to 4-6 on the season and 2-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Since joining the G-MAC in 2016, the Pioneers are now 5-0 against Trevecca, who fell to 2-7 on the year and 1-3 in the G-MAC.
 
Recap
A hot start had Malone up 5-0 early as Robin Campbell hit a layup and Naomi Grandison netted a three-pointer on the Pioneers' first two possessions. A three-ball by Chrissie Vaughan a few minutes later gave Malone an 8-3 lead before the Trojans rallied off 12 straight points over the next six minutes to take 15-8 lead, their largest of the game. Freshman guard Mikayla Poole ended the scoring drought with a reverse layup underneath the basket and her buzzer-beating three-pointer from deep in the left wing made it a 17-13 game after one.
 
In an up-tempo, yet low-scoring second quarter, the two squads would combine for just six points over the first eight-and-a half minutes. A TNU layup late in the half gave the hosts a 21-17 advantage, but another three-pointer from Vaughan and a pair of free throws by Grandison allowed the Pioneers to take a 22-21 advantage headed into intermission.
 
After outscoring Trevecca 9-4 in the second quarter, Malone needed less than three minutes in the third quarter to equal its second-quarter output as a 9-2 run, capped off by five straight points from Ellen Doyle, gave the visitors a 31-23 lead. The Pioneers eventually took their largest lead of the game at the 2:47 mark of the quarter when Sydney Wentling knocked down a runner in the paint to put her team up 35-25.
 
By the 8:19 mark of the final frame, that lead would be completely erased as a 10-0 Trojan run tied it at 35-35. A triple by Wentling finally ended a five-minute scoreless streak, but Trevecca refused to go away, scoring the next four points to take its first lead of the fourth quarter, 39-38, with 6:32 left to play.
 
The lead switched sides three more times over the next few minutes as the final lead change occurred with 1:52 remaining when Wentling banked one in from eight feet to put Malone ahead 44-43.
 
The Trojans split a pair of free throws on their next possession to tie before Malone went to work looking for the go-ahead score. On their next time down the court, the Pioneers missed three looks at the basket but managed to pull down three offensive boards.
 
The fourth time was a charm as Chrissie Vaughan passed up on an open corner three, shot-faking a Trevecca defender before driving to the basket for the go-ahead layup. Vaughan canned a free throw on an and-1 opportunity to put Malone up 47-44 with just under a minute to play.
 
With a chance to tie, the Trojans missed a three-pointer on their next possession and were forced to foul. Malone hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to widen the gap and secure the hard-fought 54-46 victory.
 
Game Highlights
- The Pioneer defense held the Trojans to just 27.5% shooting (19-of-69), including a 4-of-26 (15.4%) performance from deep.
- Malone, meanwhile, shot 32.7% (17-for-52) from the field and 7-of-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc. The Pioneers finished 13-of-15 (86.7%) at the free throw line.
- Trevecca held a 44-41 rebounding advantage, including a significant 14-6 margin in offensive boards. Despite the discrepancy, the Trojans outscored Malone just 8-5 in second-chance points.
- The Trojans outscored Malone 14-9 off of turnovers and 22-20 in the paint, but the Pioneer bench held a commanding 16-0 scoring edge.
- The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Pioneers.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
- Three different Pioneers scored a team-high nine points, including Ellen Doyle, who added a team-high eight rebounds, two assists, and a block. All of her scoring came in the second half.
- Chrissie Vaughan provided nine points, six rebounds, and two of Malone's three steals.
- Sydney Wentling tallied nine points and a steal off the bench. Like Doyle, all nine of her points came in the final 20 minutes.
- Robin Campbell totaled eight points, five boards, and four assists.
- Plagued by foul trouble, Naomi Grandison still managed to collect seven points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes.
 
Trevecca Nazarene Individual Highlights
- Brittin Boyer scored a game-high 17 points (8-12 FG) and hauled in 10 rebounds.
- Callie Hackett totaled 11 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
- Brianna Bryant scored only five points, but added 10 rebounds, two assists, and five steals.
 
Up Next
Malone will go for its second straight win on Saturday when it visits Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday (Dec. 15) for a 1:00 pm ET (12:00 pm CT) tip.