HILLSDALE, Mich. -- The Malone University women's basketball team opened up their 2020-21 season on Saturday afternoon.

Although the Pioneers had spent the entire preseason and the majority of this week preparing to play a different opponent, as has become the theme for the 2020 calendar year, things change daily. 

Due to the CoVID-19 protocols within the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, the Pioneers were unable to play their originally scheduled opponent, Ohio Valley University.

Instead, the decision was made Friday afternoon to move up a game with Hillsdale College that was originally on the schedule for January 9.

The result: Malone traveled to Michigan today to open up their season against the Hillsdale College Chargers. 

The short notice change of opponent seemed to have little affect on the Pioneers however. The lead changed hands several times over a back-and-forth first half, but Malone took control midway through the third quarter. They never looked back on their way to an 84-76 win. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Hillsdale opened up the scoring with five consecutive points, before a layup from Holly Groff got Malone on the board to make it a 5-2 game. A few possessions later Jade Abdulla made it 7-7 with a fast break bucket. The teams continued to trade baskets during the opening quarter, and a three-point play from Alexis Hutchison gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the quarter at 21-18. Unfortunately the Chargers were able to cut that down to 21-20 before the buzzer sounded. 

A three-pointer from Mikayla Poole opened up the scoring in the second quarter, but 24-20 proved to be the largest Malone lead of the half. Much like the opening period, the teams traded baskets for most of the second quarter. Hillsdale was actually able to lead by as many as four points on three different occasions before the Pioneers rallied back. Three consecutive three-point baskets from Groff, combined with stops on the defensive end, helped propel Malone to a 45-42 halftime lead. 

Although the Pioneers never trailed in the second half, the host Chargers refused to let them pull completely away. In the third quarter, the defense proved to be the Malone catalyst as they scored 11 of their 19 points off of Hillsdale turnovers, including six points inside the paint.

Malone quickly opened up their lead to double-digits with a 7-0 run to open up the fourth quarter. The run was highlighted by a three-point play from Madison Hunter and a pair of layups by Groff. Although that proved to be their largest advantage of the contest as the Chargers fought back, Malone was able to hold off the late comeback attempt and secure the win.  

PIONEER POINTS

• Holly Groff led all scorers in the contest with 27 points, including 5-7 shooting from beyond the three-point line. 

• The Pioneers forced 26 Charger turnovers, which they converted into 24 points on the other end of the floor. 

• Malone also dominated underneath the basket, outscoring Hillsdale 42-28 inside the paint.

• Madison Hunter scored a career-high 16 points, including a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe.

• Alexis Hutchison and Robin Campbell headlined the defensive effort for Malone with a combined nine steals. They also scored 15 and 10 points respectively to round out the double-digit scorers for the Pioneers.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The ongoing CoVID pandemic has already forced more changes to the upcoming schedule. A December 10 trip to Trevecca Nazarene University has been postponed. Make sure to check www.malonepioneers.com and the official Malone Pioneer Athletics social media channels for the most up to date schedules.