The Malone University women's basketball team dropped to 4-7 on the season and 2-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference after suffering a 60-55 road loss to Kentucky Wesleyan College Saturday afternoon at the Owensboro Sportscenter. The Pioneers had a 55-51 lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers scored the game's final nine points, including seven in the last 31 seconds to improve to 6-3 on the year and 4-1 in the G-MAC.
 
True to form, Malone once again played excellent defense, holding the Panthers to just 36% shooting and 18 points below their season scoring average, but a nearly five-minute Malone scoring drought to end the game, proved to be the difference.
 
Recap
In a tightly-contested first quarter, freshman guard Mikayla Poole broke an 11-11 deadlock with a high-arching corner three that put Malone ahead 14-11 late in the frame; the Pioneers eventually led 16-13 after one.
 
Malone fell behind briefly in the second quarter after a Kentucky Wesleyan three-pointer put the hosts up 21-20 with 7:07 left in the half. On the next possession, though, Malone regained the advantage when senior guard Chrissie Vaughan buried a corner three.
 
Her trey sparked an 11-0 run for the Pioneers as Poole and Sydney Wentling both canned triples and another jumper from Wentling put Malone up 31-21, marking its largest lead of the game. KWC, meanwhile, went nearly seven minutes without a field goal before a three-pointer just before half cut the Malone advantage to 33-26 headed into the break.
 
The Panthers sliced the deficit to a single point on four separate occasions in the third quarter, but each time Malone had an answer. Taking advantage of a pair of missed free throws by the Pioneers, however, Kentucky Wesleyan finally recaptured the lead when a three-pointer put them up 43-42 with 2:14 left in the period. The Panthers, who came into the game averaging 10 three-pointers per contest, knocked down four third-quarter triples and would take 47-44 lead into the fourth.
 
After two free throws extended the margin to five points on the first possession of the final stanza, Malone scored seven straight to regain the lead as a layup from Wentling, a deep three from Robin Campbell, and a driving left-handed layup by Vaughan gave Malone a 51-49 edge.
 
The Panthers tied it a 51-51 momentarily with 6:00 left to play before Malone immediately went back in front on a Wentling layup. A jumper by Paiten Strother with 4:46 remaining gave the Pioneers a 55-51 lead, but they would not score again.
 
KWC cut the deficit in half with 3:16 to go, but the Pioneers kept them from tying it until the 31-second mark when a layup and an and-1 opportunity by the Panthers' Kaylee Clifford but her team up for good.
 
Game Highlights
-Altogether, Kentucky Wesleyan outscored Malone 34-22 in the second half.
-The Pioneers went 0-6 shooting and committed four turnovers in the final 4:46. They finished the game 19-of-54 (35.2%) from the field, 6-of-16 (37.5%) from three and 11-of-17 (64.7%) at the free-throw line.
-The Panthers shot 18-of-50 (36.0%) from the field, 6-for-22 (27.3%) from three, and 18-of-22 (81.8%) at the charity stripe.
-In addition to the free throw advantage, Kentucky Wesleyan held a staggering 21-2 edge in fast break points.
-Malone out-rebounded the Panthers 35-30, including an 8-4 margin in offensive boards.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Robin Campbell led all scorers with 14 points. She filled out the stat sheet with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
-Sydney Wentling totaled 11 points
-Chrissie Vaughan added eight points, a season-high 12 rebounds, and three steals.
-Ellen Doyle chipped in with eight points and five boards.
-Mikayla Poole scored six first-half points.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan Individual Highlights
-Keelie Lamb led the Panthers with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals.
-Jenna Martin added 10 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of steals.
 
Up Next
The Pioneers will head to Michigan next Wednesday, December 19th to take on Northwood in a midday non-conference affair.