COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Malone University women's basketball team played their third consecutive road game on Thursday evening with a Great Midwest Athletic Conference matchup at Ohio Dominican University.

The Pioneers (2-7, 2-7 G-MAC) struggled in the first quarter as the Panthers (5-2, 5-2) jumped out to an early ten point lead.

Malone rallied back, and actually outscored ODU in the middle quarters, but a strong fourth quarter ultimately helped give the Panthers the 82-68 victory.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Panthers opened up the scoring, but back-to-back baskets from Holly Groff and Alexis Hutchison quickly put Malone up 4-2. Unfortunately the Pioneers offense struggled mightily for the rest of the quarter. The only other Malone points in the quarter came on a Hutchison jumper inside the final minute.

The Pioneers did not allow their offensive struggles to create problems on the defensive end of the floor however. Ohio Dominican was only able to manage 16 total points in the quarter, leaving Malone with a very manageable deficit to overcome during the remaining thirty minutes.

The offense got things going in a big way in the second quarter. They posted a 12-19 mark from the field including three-pointers by Groff and Lexi Manos. The first five minutes saw the Pioneers go on a 15-7 run to cut the Panther lead down to just a single possession at 23-21. 

The two teams traded baskets for several trips up and down the floor with Malone staying within just one or two possessions, but ODU doing just enough to hold a lead. Unfortunately that lead grew to 41-32 by halftime. 

The Panthers quickly grabbed a double-digit advantage early in the third period, before the Pioneers settled in.

Malone actually outscored Ohio Dominican 20-18 in the quarter, but much like the second quarter, every time they looked to make a run at the lead ODU had an answer. 

Robin Campbell made her presence known in a big way early on in the final quarter. With the Pioneers trailing 61-54 and just 8:28 remaining in the ballgame, Campbell scored the next seven Malone points to get the deficit down to 64-61.

Unfortunately that was as close as the Pioneers got down the stretch. ODU's offense regained control, and helped in part by a 9-10 mark from the free throw line, pulled away for the win.

PIONEER POINTS

• Holly Groff led Malone with 18 points. The redshirt-senior guard was 4-10 from beyond the three-point line, and has now scored at least 12 or more points in seven of the nine games this season.

• Robin Campbell was the only other player from Malone in double-digits. Helped by that run in the fourth quarter, she finished with 13 points. Also of note, she attempted the lone free-throw for the Pioneers. Converting a three-point play early on in the fourth. 

• Each team pulled down nine offensive rebounds, but Malone made the most of those extra opportunities. They outscored ODU 9-4 on second-chance points

• Nikki Weber, Lexi Manos and Mikayla Poole helped the Pioneers post a 14-2 advantage in points off the bench.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Pioneers close out this long stretch of away games this weekend with a trip to Lake Erie College. Saturday's tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m.