TIFFIN, Ohio -- The Malone University women's basketball team was back on the road on Saturday afternoon for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference matchup at Tiffin University. 

The Pioneers (1-4, 1-4 G-MAC) built up a 33-26 lead at halftime, but the Dragons (4-2, 4-2 G-MAC) rallied back to force overtime. Tiffin then was able to edge out Malone in the extra period to pick up the 69-67 win.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Malone came out the gate strong, especially on the defensive end of the floor. The Pioneers forced several Tiffin turnovers and converted them into 12 points on the other end of the floor. Back-to-back baskets from Nikki Weber and Holly Groff tied the game at 16-16 after the opening ten minutes. 

The Pioneers were even better in the second quarter. Offensively, they shot 7-14 from the field, and on the defensive end they only allowed the Dragons to score a pair of field goals. The Dragons, helped by several free throws, manged 10 points in the quarter, but the Pioneers countered with 17 points of their own to carry a 33-26 lead to halftime. 

Tiffin made some halftime adjustments, and actually outscored Malone in the third quarter, but helped by a couple of huge three-pointers from Goff, the Pioneers were still on top 49-45 heading into the final quarter. 

Unfortunately, the Dragons continued the comeback in the fourth. They used a huge advantage on points in the paint (14-2) to completely eliminate the Malone lead. Tiffin tied the game at 62-62 with 1:37 remaining to play, and both teams had several opportunities to take the lead, but could not convert. 

Tiffin got on the board first In the overtime period, but a few possessions later another Groff three-pointer put Malone on top 67-66. Unfortunately, the Dragons scored the final four points of the game to escape with a 69-67 win.

PIONEER POINTS

• Holly Groff led the Pioneers with a game-high 25 points. Her three-pointer in overtime helped her eclipse 1,000 career points.

• Madison Hunter continued her high level of play, scoring 15 points on 7-11 shooting. She also pulled down eight rebounds to tie Groff for the team-lead on the boards.

• Sophomore Nikki Weber scored a career-high 13 points, including shooting 3-5 from beyond the three-point line.

• The Pioneers defense forced the Dragons into 19 turnovers, and turned those into a 25-5 advantage in points-off-turnovers.

• Tiffin's advantge came from the free-throw line. The Dragons went to the line 18 times, converting on 14 of them, compared to just 2-4 for Malone.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Pioneers will now break for the holidays. Malone will be back in action on January 2, 2021 when they travel to Trevecca Nazarene University. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. EST.