The Malone University women's basketball team lost to visiting Hillsdale College 66-62 in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) contest Saturday afternoon in Osborne Hall. The Pioneers overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 62-62 with 52 seconds remaining, but Hillsdale (13-8, 11-6 G-MAC) scored the game's final four points to improve to 13-8 on the season and 11-6 in conference.
 
With the loss, Malone dropped to 8-13 overall and 6-11 in the G-MAC. Despite their third straight loss, and their fifth in the last six games, the Pioneers remain alive in the postseason hunt. With five regular season contests remaining, Malone is one game back of Lake Erie for the eighth and final playoff spot. The two teams will meet on the final day of the season.
 
Recap
In a tightly-contested first quarter that featured five lead changes, Malone opened the game with five straight points to mark what would be its largest lead of the game. The Pioneers led 11-7 following a jumper from Chrissie Vaughan with 2:23 left in the opening period, but the Chargers scored 16 of the next 18 points to take a 16-13 lead after one quarter and a 23-13 lead midway through the second stanza.
 
Down 31-22 late in the half, Malone scored five straight points on a jumper from Sydney Foster and a three-pointer by Sydney Wentling to trim the deficit to 31-27 going into halftime.
 
Following a jumper from Wentling on the first possession of the second half, the Pioneers went cold, missing 10 of their next 11 shots while committing five turnovers. The four-point halftime deficit swelled to 12 as Hillsdale outscored Malone 15-7 in the frame to lead 46-34 headed into the fourth.
 
After scoring just seven points in the third quarter, Malone tallied 28 in the fourth. A three-pointer by Hillsdale at the 9:06 mark made it a 15-point game before the Pioneers began to slowly but surely chip away. A made layup by Baylen Dyrlund followed by back-to-back threes from Wentling and Paiten Strother, both assisted by Dyrlund, cut the deficit to 53-44 with 7:29 left to play. A three-pointer by Naomi Grandison with 4:40 left cut the lead to six at 56-50.
 
A Charger bucket on the next possession made it 58-50, but Malone whittled it down to one point within the next 38 seconds on an exciting 7-0 run. Grandison's jumper on the following possession preceded a steal from Paiten Strother on the opposite end. Strother then made a heads up play to find a streaking Holly Groff for a fastbreak layup. Groff then picked off the subsequent inbounds pass and was fouled on a made layup. Her free throw completed an old-fashioned three-point play that cut the margin to just one point at 58-57 with under four minutes remaining.
 
Hillsdale scored the next four points over the next two minutes before Dyrlund canned a pair of free throws with 1:37 left to bring Malone back within one possession at 62-59. A missed layup on Hillsdale's next trip gave the Pioneers the ball and a chance to tie it for the first time since the first quarter; and they cashed in. Out of a double team, Dyrlund hit Groff on a cross-court pass to the left wing where she buried a three-point try that tied it at 62-62.
 
The Chargers regained the lead, though, on a go-ahead layup with 20 seconds remaining. Malone failed to answer with a game-tying bucket on its next possession and was forced to foul. Hillsdale hit the first of two free throws, but failed to connect on the second. With seven seconds left and after a timeout to advance the ball past midcourt, the Pioneers had a chance to tie it again, but a turnover on the inbounds entry pass prevented such an opportunity. The Chargers hit another free throw with five seconds left to seal their 66-62 victory.
 
Game Highlights
-The Pioneers made 10-of-17 (58.8%) shots in the fourth quarter. Overall, however, they were just 22-of-58 (37.9%) for the game.
-Malone connected on 7-of-22 (31.8%) three-point tries and 11-of-13 (84.6%) free throws.
-The Pioneer defense held Hillsdale to just 26-of-67 (38.8%) shooting and a 4-of-20 (20.0%) from three-point range.
-Hillsdale, who came into the game as the number two rebounding team in Division II, held only a slight edge in rebounds, 42-37. The Chargers grabbed 15 offensive boards, but only managed nine second-chance points.
-The Chargers dominated scoring the paint, edging out Malone 42-24.
-Hillsdale earned a season sweep of Malone after besting the Pioneers 77-51 in early December.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Baylen Dyrlund tossed in a team-high 17 points to lead the Pioneers. She added four assists, three rebounds, and a steal.
-Sydney Wentling registered her best shooting performance of the season, netting five of seven field goals, including three of four from three, to finish with 13 points.
-Holly Groff was the third Pioneer to reach double figures, totaling 10 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
-Paiten Strother tallied nine points, four boards, and a pair of thefts.
 
Hillsdale Individual Highlights
-Allie Dittmer recorded a game-high 21 points in addition to her eight rebounds.
-Makenna Ott collected 15 points, a game-high nine boards, and four assists.
-Allie Dewire added 15 points, six boards, and four helpers.
 
Up Next
Malone will be at home again next Thursday, February 8th as it looks to avenge a loss to Kentucky Wesleyan at 8:00 pm.