The Malone University women's basketball team squares off against Cedarville University in the opening round of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship this Tuesday at 5:30 pm in Cedarville. The men's G-MAC Quarterfinal match between Malone and Cedarville follows at 7:45 pm.
Malone, which earned the number five seed in the eight-team Tournament, will meet Cedarville, which secured the number four seed, for the second straight postseason and the third time in the last four years. The two teams also split a pair of games this season, each winning on their opponent's home floor.
Tuesday's winner advances to take on the winner of #1 Walsh and #8 Lake Erie in the semifinals on Friday. The other side of the bracket features #2 Kentucky Wesleyan vs. #7 Tiffin and #3 Findlay vs. #6 Ohio Dominican. The G-MAC Champion will be crowned this Saturday and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
GameDay
3/3 Malone at Cedarville – 5:30 pm
Live video:
portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Live stats:
yellowjackets.cedarville.edu/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
Series History
Malone is 14-34 all-time against the Yellow Jackets, including the 1-1 mark this season. On February 13, Malone defeated Cedarville 81-74 to snap a 24-game home winning streak for the Jackets. Cedarville enacted its revenge on Malone with a 66-50 win in Canton on February 22nd. Last season's G-MAC Quarterfinal match saw the Pioneers race out to a 22-7 lead, but a 35-point swing resulted in a 75-55 win for Cedarville.
Team Comparison
| Category |
Malone |
CED |
| Record (G-MAC) |
18-10 (12-6) |
20-7 (13-5) |
| Points per game |
74.6 |
73.9 |
| Points allowed |
68.3 |
64.3 |
| Scoring margin |
+6.3 |
+9.6 |
| FG% |
43.4% |
45.5% |
| 3-point% |
35.8% |
34.9% |
| Free throw% |
76.8% |
73.1% |
| FG% defense |
42.9% |
40.7% |
| Rebounds |
36.0 |
34.6 |
| Rebound margin |
-0.3 |
-1.0 |
| Turnover margin |
+2.6 |
+3.7 |
Malone Notes
- The Pioneers ended their four-game losing streak with an 88-79 victory over Ursuline on Senior Day Saturday. The 88 points were the fourth-most this season by Malone, who took a season-high 77 shots and committed a season-low seven turnovers.
- Senior Ellen Doyle scored a team-high 19 points in the win vs. Ursuline. She is averaging 9.8 points and a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game and has led Malone in scoring twice in the last three games.
- Pioneer junior Holly Groff has led MU in scoring 14 times this season while averaging 18.3 points per game – second-most in the G-MAC. Groff has made a school record 90 three-pointers this season, ranking ninth in NCAA DII, and is shooting 40.0% from beyond the arc.
- Senior forward Sydney Wentling is shooting 44.2% from distance this season, a number that would equate to a school record. She is averaging 9.5 points and 4.2 rebounds a contest.
- Sophomore guard Robin Campbell leads Malone in assists (3.1 per game) while averaging 13.9 points. She is third in the G-MAC with 100 made free throws and third on the team with 30 steals.
- Freshman guard Alexis Hutchison leads the squad with 42 steals while shooting a team-best 48.1% from the field. Hutchison has come on strong on the offensive end of late, tossing in 13 ppg over the last five contests.
- Malone continues to receive solid contributions from its bench, which accounted for 19 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, and six steals on Saturday.
- Forwards Emma Kallas and Madison Hunter each shoot over 45% and are combing for almost 10 points a game. Jade Abdulla, who has 51 assists, has found herself on the floor late in contests while Mikayla Poole has three double-digit scoring games this season.
- As a team, Malone remains one of the best three-point shooting units in the country. The Pioneers are top-20 in DII in threes per game (9.1) and are 12-1 when making at least nine.
- Malone travels to Cedarville on Tuesday as one of the best road teams in the Midwest Region at 10-3. Outside of Drury, Ashland, and Grand Valley State, who are ranked 1-2-4 in the country, no team in the Region has more road wins than the Pioneers.
Cedarville Notes
- After a 10-0 start at home this season, the Jackets have lost two straight on their own floor, including a 64-56 loss to Findlay last Wednesday. CU ended the regular season with an 84-65 road win at Ohio Valley on Saturday.
- Four different players scored in double figures, including leading scorer Page Garr (18), in that win, but the Jackets committed an uncharacteristic season-high 20 turnovers. Cedarville ranks seventh in DII in fewest turnovers and is 25th in the country in shooting.
- Ashlyn Huffman is scoring 11.8 ppg while leading the team in rebounds (5.0 rpg) and assists (6.0 apg). She ranks fifth in DII in assists.
- Abby Wolford averages a team-high 14.9 points per game, but has missed each of the last five contests with injury.
