OWENSBORO, Kentucky -- The Malone University women's basketball team was back on the road on Monday afternoon for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference matchup at Kentucky Wesleyan College.

The Panthers (3-1, 3-1 G-MAC) held a lead for the entire contest until early on in the fourth quarter. A late run by the Pioneers (2-5, 2-5 G-MAC) helped them lead by as many as six points early on in the fourth quarter, but Kentucky Wesleyan battled back, and ultimately escaped with a 75-74 win on a buzzer beater layup. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Kentucky Wesleyan opened up the contest on 6-0 run before a layup from Madison Hunter got the Pioneers on the scoreboard. After another Panther basket, Holly Groff drilled the first, of what would be seven three-pointers on the afternoon, to make it a one-possession game. 

The Panthers stretched their lead out to as many as seven points in the first quarter, but Malone never let them get out of reach, forcing KWC to settle for a 19-14 lead after the first ten minutes of play. 

Kentucky Wesleyan started the second quarter the exact same way as the first, on a 6-0 run. This time it was a Nikki Weber jump shot that ended the drought for the Pioneers. 

The teams traded baskets for much of the middle part of the quarter, before another Panther run. KWC stretched their lead out to the largest of the afternoon at 38-14 with just 2:36 left to play in the half. 

Another three-point basket from Groff and five points from Weber allowed the Pioneers to close the gap down to 40-32 at the halftime break.

The momentum shifted in the third quarter as Malone outscored KWC by five points, and cut the deficit down to 59-55. The Pioneers got five straight points from Groff to open up the quarter. Emma Kallas also added a pair of field goals, before Robin Campbell closed the quarter with six made free throws.

The fourth quarter was tightly contested from the start. Back-to-back three-pointers from Groff tied the game up at 61. She then made a steal and converted the layup on the other end to give Malone their first lead of the afternoon at 63-61.

Consecutive baskets from Hunter and Kallas put the Pioneers up 67-61 and forced the Panthers to take a timeout. 

Malone continued to lead as the teams traded off scores for several possessions. Unfortunately, KWC made a quick run, and a pair of free throws allowed them to retake the lead at 71-70 with just 1:58 left to play in the game. 

On the ensuing Pioneer possession Groff connected from deep, but just two possessions later the Panthers answered with a three-pointer of their own to move ahead 73-72.

With just eight seconds left on the clock Alexis Hutchison put back an offensive board to put Malone up 74-73.

Unfortunately the Panther defense forced a late turnover, and they beat the buzzer with a layup on the other end to escape the Owensboro Sportscenter with a 75-74 win. 

PIONEER POINTS

• Malone outrebounded Kentucky Wesleyan by a 24-19 mark, and held a 10-4 advantage on second-chance points.

• Holly Groff poured in a season-high 29 points to lead all scorers. She also notched season-high totals in field goals (11) and three-point field goals (7).

• Nikki Weber totaled double-digits in points for the third consecutive game. She had 10 points on 4-8 shooting from the field. 

• Robin Campbell was the other Pioneer to finish with double-digit points. She had 14, including a season-high eight points from the free-throw line.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Next up for the Pioneers is a trip to the University of Findlay. Malone will take on the Oilers on Friday with tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m.