The Malone University women's basketball team heads back out on the road this week to take on northeast Ohio foes Lake Erie College on Thursday, January 17th and Ursuline College on January 19th in a pair of Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) contests.
 
Malone enters the week in a three-way tie for 10th place in the G-MAC standings while Ursuline is ninth and Lake Erie is seventh. This weekend's competition will go far in determining the eight postseason berths come March.
 
GameDay
1/17 Malone at Lake Erie –  5:30 pm
1/19 Malone at Ursuline – 1:00 pm
Both games will be streamed live via the Great Midwest Digital Network at: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
 
Team Comparison

Category	Malone	LEC	UC
Record (G-MAC)	5-10 (3-6)	8-6 (5-4)	5-10 (4-5)
Points per game	59.7	63.6	67.9
Points allowed	64.7	67.9	73.5
Scoring margin	-4.9	-4.3	-5.6
FG%	36.0%	42.7%	38.1%
3-point%	30.1%	34.1%	32.6%
Free throw%	74.7%	67.7%	75.9%
FG% defense	40.0%	39.8%	39.9%
Rebounds	35.7	33.4	37.3
Rebound margin	-3.1	-5.4	-3.9
Turnover margin	-0.8	-1.5	-0.3

Series History
Malone is 17-8 all-time against Lake Erie, including a 1-1 split last season. At home against the Storm in January, the Pioneers secured an 86-77 victory. Needing a win to secure a postseason berth at Lake Erie in the 2017-18 season finale in late February, Malone dropped an 87-64 decision in Painesville.
 
Against Ursuline, Malone is 16-6 in 22 all-time meetings, including a pair of wins last season and four straight overall. At home versus the Arrows last January, the Pioneers earned a 73-62 triumph as five different players scored in double figures. Then in February, Malone went to Pepper Pike and came away with a 70-59 victory in the penultimate game of the season.

Malone Notes

• Junior guard Sydney Wentling averaged 13.5 points per game in the four games against Lake Erie and Ursuline last year, including a career-high 19 in the road win over the Arrows. This season, Wentling is averaging 7.8 ppg and has scored at least eight points in five of the last six outings.
• Just like Wentling, classmate Ellen Doyle has scored at least eight points in five of the last six games and is shooting 56.3% (9-of-16) from three-point range during the stretch. Through 15 contests this season, Doyle is second on the team in scoring (8.7 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.6 rpg).
• Robin Campbell remains the team leader in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (5.6 rpg), and assists (3.4 apg). The freshman point guard, who ranks seventh in the G-MAC in points, scored a team-high 20 in the Pioneers' loss to Walsh last Saturday.
• Senior guard Chrissie Vaughan (8.0 ppg) leads the team in steals (14) and made threes (24) and has at least one made three-pointer in every game this season and 20 in a row dating back to last season.
• Fellow senior Naomi Grandison (7.5 ppg) leads the squad in three-point shooting (38.3%) and is 23-of-60 from beyond the arc this season. She went 6-of-13 from long range in the two road games at Lake Erie and Ursuline last season.
• As a team, Malone is second in the G-MAC in attempted threes (395) and fourth in made threes, averaging 7.9 per game. The Pioneers made a season-low four treys in their 76-56 loss to Walsh last Saturday.
• The Malone defense remains fourth in the G-MAC in fewest points allowed, although three of the last four opponents have scored at least 76 points and shot better than 50% from the floor.
• The Pioneers enter the weekend with a 3-5 overall mark on the road and a 1-4 record in G-MAC road games. Overall, Malone has lost eight of 10 since its 3-3 start but will look to get back on track as it begins the second half of the season.

Lake Erie Notes -  Roster | Schedule | Stats

• The Storm and first-year head coach Brooklyn Kohlheim are 4-1 at home this season, but enter the week with a 1-4 mark in last five conference games. Their only win in the stretch was a 76-63 home victory over Tiffin last Saturday.
• Junior guard Josie Chaddock leads the team and ranks sixth in the G-MAC in scoring at 13.9 ppg. She leads the G-MAC in minutes (37.6 mpg) and assists (4.6 apg) and is third in total steals (30).
• Junior guard Farrah Benner, the only other play to average double digits scoring (12.7 ppg), is third in the G-MAC with 40 made threes. She has come off the bench to average 16 points over the last seven games. Benner scored 21 in both games against Malone last season.
   

Ursuline Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• After winning 67 games over the last three years, the Arrows are in unfamiliar territory at just 5-10 this season and struggling for postseason positioning. Ursuline has, however, won two of three and is 4-4 at home this season.
• Junior forward Julia Cardwell scored a team-high 19 points in the Arrows' most recent game, a 66-58 home loss to first-place Cedarville last Saturday. On the season, Cardwell is third in the G-MAC in scoring (15.0 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (6.6 rpg).
• Junior guard Paige Salisbury (8.1 ppg) is second in the G-MAC in both rebounds (7.8 rpg) and assists (4.3 apg).