After playing 13 of its last 17 games on the road, the Malone University women's basketball team will play its final five games of the season all at home, beginning with a pair of contests this week. The Pioneers host first-place Kentucky Wesleyan College this Thursday, February 14th at 6:00 pm before welcoming Trevecca Nazarene University on Saturday, February 16th at 1:00 pm.
 
Malone enters the week in eighth place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference standings and fully controls its postseason destiny heading into the final three weeks of the season. The path to get there won't be easy, however, as the Pioneers begin the homestretch with perhaps their toughest test of the season in Kentucky Wesleyan, who has won 15 straight. Trevecca Nazarene, meanwhile, is part of a six-team logjam, along with Malone, in the middle of the conference standings. The Trojans, who will face Walsh on Thursday, enter the week in fifth place.
 
GameDay
2/14 Malone vs. Kentucky Wesleyan – 6:00 pm
2/16 Malone vs. Trevecca Nazarene – 1:00 pm
Live Video/Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Radio (TNU only): ESPN 990 AM | www.espn990.com/listen.php

Team Comparison

Category	Malone	KWC	TNU
Record (G-MAC)	11-12 (9-8)	19-3 (15-1)	10-12 (9-7)
Points per game	59.2	78.8	66.0
Points allowed	60.3	61.5	68.1
Scoring margin	-1.1	+17.3	-2.1
FG%	36.9%	43.6%	37.6%
3-point%	30.8%	37.5%	26.9%
Free throw%	74.5%	73.7%	67.7%
FG% defense	37.3%	38.2%	41.4%
Rebounds	36.3	34.5	36.8
Rebound margin	-2.4	+1.2	-3.4
Turnover margin	-1.3	+5.0	+3.2

Series History
Since the series began in 2016-17, Malone is 2-3 all-time against Kentucky Wesleyan. Earlier this season, Malone squandered a 10-point first-half lead in a 60-55 loss to the Panthers in Owensboro on December 15th. Last season in Canton, Malone dropped a 74-69 decision to KWC.
 
Against Trevecca Nazarene, Malone is 5-4 all-time, including five straight wins since joining the G-MAC for the 2016-17 season. In Nashville in December, Malone topped the Trojans 54-46. At home against Treveccan February of 2018, the Pioneers played their best game of the year, knocking down 17 three-pointers (second-most in school history) in a 94-55 victory.

Malone Notes

• With a 60-57 win at Alderson Broaddus last Thursday and a 66-59 win at Davis & Elkins on Saturday, the Pioneers have now a season-high three in a row and five of their last six overall.
• During the six-game stretch, Malone has held all six opponents below 60 points. On the season, the Pioneers lead the G-MAC in scoring defense and are 9-1 when their opponent scores fewer than 60 points.
• Offensively, the Pioneers have shot better than 40% in five of their last six games and are 8-1 when this season when making at least 40% from the field. They are also 6-0 when making at least 10 three-pointers.
• Freshman guard Robin Campbell leads Malone in nearly every major statistical category, save for rebounds, in which she is second with 5.6 per game, and blocks. Campbell leads the team and ranks seventh in the G-MAC in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game.
• Campbell leads the G-MAC in minutes per game (36.0) and is third in the G-MAC in assists per game (4.1). She leads Malone in steals (26), field-goal percentage (43.7%), and three-point percentage (42.9%). Over the two games this weekend, Campbell averaged 16.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.5 steals and shot 57.9% from the field and 60% from three.
• Senior guard Chrissie Vaughan is second on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg) and steals (25) and is third in rebounding (5.3 rpg). She grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds against Kentucky Wesleyan in December.
• Vaughan, who leads Malone in made threes (40), scored 21 points in two games over the weekend, inching her way closer to the 1,000-point milestone. She needs just 41 points to reach the career mark.
• Junior forward Ellen Doyle (8.7 ppg) leads the team in rebounds, averaging 5.9 per night. Doyle has averaged 7.8 rebounds over the last six games.
• Junior guard Sydney Wentling (8.0 ppg) is second on the team in shooting percentage (41.5%), three-point shooting percentage (36.1%), and points per 40 minutes (14.8). She also ranks second on the team with eight double-digit scoring efforts.
• Freshman Madison Hunter (11) and senior Paiten Strother (10) are each coming off of their third double-digit scoring games of the season at Davis & Elkins. Strother, who made three-of-four three-point shots in the win, is second on the team with 40 made threes this season.
• The Pioneers come into Thursday game with a 4-9 all-time mark on Valentine's Day, but won their most recent Valentine's Day game at Salem International in 2017. Naomi Grandison scored a team-high 14 points in that victory.
• This season, Malone owns a 4-4 record on its own floor, including three straight wins. The Pioneers are 4-2 in G-MAC home games.

Kentucky Wesleyan Notes - Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Since the win over Malone, the Panthers have won 13 in a row by an average margin of 23.7 points. Altogether, Kentucky Wesleyan has won 15 straight – fifth longest active streak in Division II – and 19 of 20 overall.
• The Panthers lead the G-MAC and rank among the top-20 in DII in both scoring offense and scoring margin. They also boast the second-best defense in the conference, behind Malone, and lead the league in turnover margin.
• One of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the country, KWC is fifth in DII in made threes per game (9.7) and 19th in three-point shooting percentage. Malone held KWC to just 6-of-22 (27.3%) shooting from deep in December.
• The Panthers are led by sophomore guard Jenna Martin and her 13.6 points per game. Martin is ninth in the G-MAC in scoring, fifth in made threes (50), and second in three-point shooting (43.5%). She also leads the team with 40 steals.
• Junior forward Keelie Lamb (12.2 ppg) leads the team with 19 blocks, including three against Malone, and is second with 38 steals. Sophomore guard Kaylee Clifford (10.3 ppg) leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game.
   

Trevecca Nazarene Notes -  Roster | Schedule | Stats

• Since starting the year 3-9, the Trojans have bounced back to win seven of their last 10. Prior to a 70-61 loss to Cedarville last Saturday, TNU had won four straight.
• Trevecca leads the G-MAC in steals per game (10.3) and has 12 games with at least 10 steals. Malone, by comparison, has just two games with 10 or more thefts. In games they record fewer than 10 steals, the Trojans are just 3-7.
• Trevecca also ranks among the league leaders in offensive rebounds, pulling down 12.7 per game.
• Senior forward Brittin Boyer leads the team in scoring (11.6 ppg) and ranks second in the G-MAC in both total rebounds (8.0 rpg) and offensive rebounds per game (3.1). Boyer collected a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Malone in December.
• Junior guard Brianna Bryant (8.4 ppg) leads the team and ranks fourth in the G-MAC with 44 steals. She tallied five steals in the loss to Malone. Bryant also leads the team in made threes (38) and total assists (48).