The Malone University women's basketball team travels to North Canton on Friday, March 6th to meet rival Walsh University in postseason showdown between rivals. The two schools will clash in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship semifinal with a spot in the Saturday's Championship on the line. Tipoff is set for 5:30 pm.
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Malone and Walsh, which enters the week ranked 9th in NCAA Division II, have already met twice this season. The Cavs defeated the Pioneers 81-75 in Canton on February 17th before besting Malone 71-61 in North Canton on February 26th in the Mayors' Cup.
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The winner of Friday night's matchup faces the winner of the other semifinal game between Kentucky Wesleyan and Findlay. The G-MAC Championship game is scheduled for Saturday at Walsh at 4:00 pm.
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GameDay
3/6 Malone at Walsh – 5:30 pm
Live video/stats:
portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Team Comparison (as of 3/6/2020)
| Category |
Malone |
Walsh |
| Record (G-MAC) |
19-10 (12-6) |
26-2 (18-0) |
| Points per game |
74.9 |
85.9 |
| Points allowed |
68.4 |
65.0 |
| Scoring margin |
+6.5 |
+20.9 |
| FG% |
43.3% |
50.1% |
| 3-point% |
36.1% |
38.7% |
| Free throw% |
77.5% |
73.8% |
| FG% defense |
42.8% |
40.2% |
| Rebounds |
36.3 |
36.8 |
| Rebound margin |
+0.1 |
+2.8 |
| Turnover margin |
+2.7 |
+7.1 |
Malone Notes
- The Pioneers defeated Cedarville 83-73 on Tuesday to advance to the G-MAC semis. Malone knocked down 11 three-pointers and outrebounded the Jackets 43-34 as they upset them on their home floor.
- Malone improved to 11-3 on the road this season with Tuesday's win and next faces a tall task against a Walsh team that is 16-0 at home.
- Holly Groff scored a team-high 24 points in Tuesday's win and remains second in the G-MAC with 18.4 points per game.
- Robin Campbell (14.0 ppg) and Sydney Wentling (9.8 ppg) each scored 16 in the win at Cedarville. Campbell scored a team-high 20 points at Walsh last week. Wentling leads the team in three-point shooting percentage at 44.3%
- Alexis Hutchison has scored 34 total points in the two games against Walsh this season, including a career-high 19 points on February 17th.
- Senior forward Ellen Doyle (9.7 ppg) averages a team-high 4.6 rebounds. She remains a constant shooting threat from anywhere on the floor and ranks third on the team with 38 made three-pointers.
- Sophomore forward Madison Hunter totaled eight points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes off of the bench at Cedarville while Jade Abdulla scored a season-high seven points in 22 minutes.
- When Malone and Walsh met last week in North Canton, the game featured six ties and 16 lead changes before the Cavs pulled away in the second half. The Pioneers held Walsh to just 40.3% shooting (third-lowest this season) but were out rebounded 49-34.
Malone is 11-0 when holding opponents to 40% shooting this season.
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Walsh Notes
- The Cavaliers come into the weekend as winners of 21 straight games – fourth-longest streak in DII women's basketball. The Cavs defeated Lake Erie 78-47 in the G-MAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday.
- Walsh ranks third in the country in shooting, fifth in scoring offense, and seventh in scoring margin. Their two losses this season are by a combined 10 points.
- Forward Sha Carter leads the G-MAC in scoring at 18.9 ppg while Mayci Sales is fifth in the G-MAC at 16.9 ppg. Both rank among the top-7 in the conference in rebounds in with over seven a game. The two combined for 31 points and 21 rebounds in the Mayors' Cup win.
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