Malone University Athletics

CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- The Malone University women's basketball team went on the road on Saturday afternoon for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference matchup at the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets.

Cedarville (3-1, 3-1 G-MAC) jumped out to an early lead, and was able to withstand a late comeback from Malone (1-2, 1-2 G-MAC) to pick up the 87-76 win.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Yellow Jackets led by as many as eight points in the opening quarter, before a pair of free throws from Madison Hunter helped make it a 20-13 game after the first ten minutes of play. 

The Cedarville advantage was pushed out to 15 points midway through the second quarter before a run from the Pioneers closed the gap. Holly Groff converted on a three-point play to make it 38-26 with 4:23 remaining in the half. A couple minutes later a jumper from Emma Kallas cut the Yellow Jacket lead down to single digits at 40-32. Malone got as close as 40-33 on a Lexi Manos free throw, but Cedarville closed the half with a three-pointer to take a 43-33 advantage to the halftime break. 

The Yellow Jacket's advantage grew in the third quarter, as they received a lift from their three-point shooting to outscore Malone 25-21 in the quarter. Cedarville shot 4-6 from beyond the arc, and scored 10 bench points in the period. 

Trailing 68-54 heading into the final ten minutes of play the Pioneers turned up the intensity, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Malone scored 14 points on the fast break, 11 of those points coming off of Cedarville turnovers.  The Yellow Jackets actually led by as many as 19 points with 3:03 left to play before a huge run from the Pioneers. That 12-0 run was sparked by both Groff and Alexis Hutchison.

Unfortunatley, the Pioneers just ran out of time. They got as close 83-76 with 56 seconds left in the game, but the Yellow Jackets were able to hang on and close out the game for the win.

PIONEER POINTS

• Holly Groff scored a game-high 21 points on 8-14 shooting from the field. The redshirt-senior guard played all 40 minutes in the game. She also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds to finish with her first double-double of the season. 

• Sparked by their fourth quarter performance, the Pioneers outscored the Yellow Jackets 20-7 on fast break points.

• Alexis Hutchison and Madison Hunter scored 11 points each for Malone. Hutchison had a pair of steals to help lead the defensive effort for the Pioneers.

• Lexi Manos and Emma Kallas scored 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Malone. Manos had three assists on the offensive end of the floor.

• The Pioneers pulled down 12 offensive rebounds which helped lead to a 13-9 advantage on second-chance points.

WHAT'S NEXT?
These two teams will turn around and play their second matchup of the season. The Pioneers are set to host the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday. Tip-off from Osborne Hall is set for 6:00 p.m.