After six straight games on the road, the Malone University women's basketball team returns home this week to host Cedarville University on Wednesday, January 2nd and Tiffin University on Saturday, January 5th as it resumes Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play. The Pioneers enter the New Year having lost six of their last seven games overall, but are hoping to get back into the win column and make a run at a G-MAC postseason berth come March.
 
GameDay Promotions
On both dates, the men's game will follow the women's game as part of a doubleheader. Wednesday's game will serve as Church Congregation Appreciation Night, which includes $5 admission for members of local churches and free admission for local pastors. Saturday's game is Youth Basketball Day as all youth basketball players ages 12 and under get in free and their parents will receive a discounted ticket. To learn more about the promotions, click here.
 
GameDay
1/2 Malone vs. Cedarville – 6:00 pm
1/5 Malone vs. Tiffin – 1:00 pm
Live video/stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Live radio: ESPN 990 | www.espn990.com/listen.php
 
Team Comparison

Category	Malone	CED	TIF
Record (G-MAC)	4-8 (2-4)	9-2 (5-0)	3-8 (0-5)
Points per game	58.9	74.8	69.1
Points allowed	62.8	67.5	76.3
Scoring margin	-3.7	+7.3	-7.2
FG%	35.3%	47.1%	39.0%
3-point%	29.5%	41.8%	31.1%
Free throw%	75.7%	75.9%	69.1%
FG% defense	38.1%	40.2%	43.5%
Rebounds	37.3	32.3	38.4
Rebound margin	-1.5	-3.7	-3.4
Turnover margin	-1.9	+1.9	-0.2

Series History
Malone and Cedarville have squared off 44 times in their histories as the Yellow Jackets hold a 31-13 all-time advantage. Last season, Cedarville claimed victory in both meetings, including a 78-70 victory in Canton and an 82-63 win when the two teams met in Cedarville.
 
The Pioneers have fared better versus Tiffin, against whom they are 20-23 all-time. Malone last met Tiffin during the 2015-16 season as members of the GLIAC when they split a pair of games. This season marks the Dragons' first in the G-MAC.

Malone Notes

• The Pioneers are coming off of a 63-44 loss to Division I Akron on Saturday in which they outscored the Zips in the second half but could not overcome a slow first-half start.
• Freshman Robin Campbell scored a team-high 12 points in the loss. On the season, she is averaging a team-leading 12.6 points per game this season – good for 14th in the conference. The rookie point guard is also eight in the G-MAC in assists (3.3 apg).
• Chrissie Vaughan (8. 6 ppg) and Ellen Doyle (7.8 ppg) both rank among the top-20 in the G-MAC in rebounding, averaging 5.5 and 5.8 rebounds per game, respectively. Vaughan scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds at Akron on Saturday. She scored 13 in both games against Tiffin in 2016
• Freshman Madison Hunter tallied nine points off the bench in Saturday's loss, one shy of a season-high.
• Last season at home against Cedarville, senior guard Paiten Strother scored a season-high 14 points in the 78-70 defeat. Her presence on the defensive side of the ball could play a bigger impact this week.
• Malone, defensively, ranks second in the G-MAC in fewest points allowed, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent three-point percentage (30.4%). The Pioneers will need to be at their best when they look to hand Cedarville its first G-MAC loss on Wednesday.
• Malone is just 1-3 at home this season and has scored more than 57 points just once.  

Cedarville Notes -  Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Cedarville enters the week as the only remaining unbeaten team in the conference. Both of their losses have come out of conference against two teams ranked among the top-20 in Division II. The Yellow Jackets were ranked 28th in DII in the most recent poll.
• As a team, Cedarville leads the conference and ranks 11th in the DII in field goal percentage and they are second in the country in three-point percentage. In their five G-MAC games, the Jackets are shooting 52.7% collectively and scoring nearly 80 points a night.
• Cedarville, who is last in the G-MAC in rebounding, relies heavily on the play of its guards as four different players listed at 5'7" or shorter all average at least 11 points an outing.
• Senior guard Baylee Bennett, one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the nation, leads the team in scoring (14.4 ppg). She is 3rd in DII in three-point shooting (51.4%) and 9th in total treys (37).
• Senior guard Regina Hochstetler (11.2 ppg) scored 26 against Malone when the two teams last met a year ago.
   

Tiffin Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• While Cedarville is the only unbeaten team in G-MAC play, Tiffin is one of two teams without a G-MAC win.  They are, however, 2-1 in road games. Like Malone, Tiffin is coming off of a loss to a MAC team, falling to Toledo 75-41 this past Saturday.
• The Dragons, under first-year head coach Jessie Ivey, have struggled on the defensive end and every one of their Division II opponents this season has scored at least 72 points.
• Sophomore guard Annie Santucci leads the team and ranks third in the G-MAC in scoring (15.4 ppg) but has missed each of the last three games.
• Senior guard Ali Schirmer is next, averaging 10.5 ppg. Schirmer played with current Malone assistant Deidre McKay in 2015-16 and scored 36 points as a freshman in two games against Malone that season.