The Malone University women's basketball team picked up its fourth consecutive victory, including its third straight on the road, with a 69-61 overtime win over Ohio Dominican University late Saturday afternoon in Columbus. The Pioneers, who forced 29 turnovers, climbed to 6-3 on the season and 2-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, while the Panthers dropped to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the G-MAC.
 
Recap
Despite a slow start offensively, Malone set the tone defensively, forcing eight turnovers in the first quarter. Freshman guard Alexis Hutchison registered four steals in the opening frame as the Pioneers made up for their lack of size with relentless pressure on the ball.
 
After trailing 15-11 at the end of the first, Malone totaled just eight points in the second quarter, but forced ODU into seven more turnovers, including two more steals from Hutchison. At the break, the Pioneers faced only a 25-19 deficit despite shooting just 25.8% (8-of-31) from the field.
 
The Panther lead stretched to a game-high eight points, 27-19, in the opening moments of the third quarter before Malone began mounting its comeback. Shots that weren't falling for the Pioneers early, starting fall in the second half as Malone scored more points in the third quarter (20) than the entire first half. Hutchison recorded six points in the frame and her seventh steal as Malone closed the gap to within one.
 
Ellen Doyle's three-point play and a layup from Robin Campbell on the final possession of the third quarter left the Pioneers down just 40-39 entering the fourth. They regained the advantage two minutes into the fourth when Holly Groff drilled a three-pointer to make the score 43-42.
 
The lead went back in favor of the Panthers and at the six-minute mark, the home team still led 48-44. The Pioneers fought back with a momentous 9-0 run sparked by a Campbell steal and a Sydney Wentling basket. Ellen Doyle knocked down a corner three-pointer and Holly Groff canned an elbow jumper in transition to put Malone in front 53-48 with 3:48 left to play.
 
With under three minutes to go, a strong finish by Doyle on a layup made it a 55-50 contest, but the Panthers scored the next five points to tie it at 55-55. Both teams had two possessions in the final minute, but each team went scoreless despite seeing good looks at the basket.
 
In the extra five-minute session, the Panthers struck first with a pair of free throws, but Doyle answered with another huge three-pointer to give Malone the lead for good. The Pioneers would go up by three points two separate times on layups from Groff and Campbell but each time were met with rebuttals from the Panthers.
 
With the score 62-61 in favor of the visitors and 2:23 left to play, the Pioneer defense clamped down, holding the Panthers scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting and a turnover down the stretch. The offense, meanwhile, tacked on seven late points to hand ODU its first home loss of the season.

Game Highlights

• Malone collected a season-high 14 steals and forced 29 Panther turnovers – the most by a Malone opponent in the DII era.
• The Pioneers turned the 29 turnovers into 24 points.
• Malone shot 38.8% (26-67) compared to 34.4% (21-61) for ODU. The Panthers were 14-for-14 at the free throw line
• The Panthers managed to keep it close via a 51-30 edge in rebounds, including a 17-7 advantage in offensive boards, a 15-8 edge in second chances and 24-7 gap in bench points.

Pioneer Highlights

• Alexis Hutchison finished with a career-high 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, and seven steals. The seven steals were the most by a Pioneer since Logan Pastor had seven nearly seven years ago to the day (12/15/12 vs. Saginaw).
• Robin Campbell totaled a team-high 15 points and four assists.
• Holly Groff added 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds, and three steals.
• Ellen Doyle provided 11 points, all in the second half or overtime.
• Sydney Wentling registered nine points and a team-high five assists.
   

Panther Highlights

• Angela Troyer was the lone Panther to reach double digits in points, scoring a team-high 14.
• Brittleigh Maculay added seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Up Next
The Pioneers will go for their fifth straight win on Monday at Tiffin. Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm.