The Malone University women's basketball suffered its fourth straight loss on Thursday night, falling to visiting Kentucky Wesleyan College 74-69. The Pioneers failed to overcome a season-high 26 turnovers, including nine in the pivotal fourth quarter, as they dropped to 8-14 on the year and 6-12 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Panthers, with the win, improved to 13-9 overall and 9-9 in the G-MAC.
 
Recap
Malone grabbed an 18-17 lead following a frenetic opening quarter on the strength of two Chrissie Vaughan three-pointers. The one-point advantage climbed to as many as nine in the second quarter when a fastbreak layup by Holly Groff put the Pioneers up 30-21 with 6:43 left in the half. Kentucky Wesleyan, which never led in the first half, held Malone to just one more field goal in the quarter and no points over the final five minutes as a 10-2 run made it a 32-31 game at the break.
 
A three-pointer by Paiten Strother on the first possession of the second half ended the Malone scoring drought and gave the hosts a 35-31 lead. The two teams played back-and-forth basketball for the next ten minutes and went to the final frame all tied at 51-51.
 
The Panthers netted a corner three to make it 54-51 on the first possession of the fourth quarter, which at the time, marked their largest lead of the game. Malone answered with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Sydney Wentling triple, to go back up by four. A 10-2 rally by KWC, though, turned a four-point deficit into a four-point lead (64-60) with just 2:49 to play.
 
A Baylen Dyrlund layup cut the Wesleyan lead to 64-62, but six straight points, including four off of turnovers, put the game out of reach. Down 70-62 with just 53 seconds remaining, Malone made it interesting as a pair of treys from Groff and Strother brought the score to within three, but two late free throws by the Panthers iced the road victory.
 
Game Highlights
-The 26 turnovers by the Pioneers marked the most in a game since 2015.
-Kentucky Wesleyan, which came into the night leading the league in steals and turnover margin, recorded 19 steals and totaled 31 points off of turnovers.
-Despite the ball control issues, Malone shot it well, finishing 25-of-55 (45.5%) from the field.
-The Pioneers' 45.5% (10-of-22) performance from three-point range was the second-best of the season.
-Kentucky Wesleyan countered with a 27-of-59 (45.8%) effort from the field. The Panthers were 7-for-18 (38.9%) from three despite missing eight of their first nine.
 
Malone Individual Highlights
-Baylen Dyrlund had a great night, totaling 19 points and 12 rebounds (one shy of a career-high) as she registered her third double-double of the season. She added four assists and a steal to her stat line.
-Holly Groff tallied 16 points, tied a season-high with seven rebounds, and recorded two steals. She was, however, guilty of seven turnovers.
-Sydney Wentling handed out a career-high seven assists to go along with seven points and two steals.
-Chrissie Vaughan and Paiten Strother added nine and points respectively.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan Individual Highlights
-Kaylee Clifford scored a game-high 22 points with nine rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
-Keelie Lamb collected 12 points, three assists, and six steals.
-Jenna Martin chipped in with eight points and four thefts.
 
Up Next
Malone will play its final home game of the season on Saturday, February 10th with a 3:00 pm tip against Trevecca Nazarene.