CEDARVILLE, Ohio -- On Tuesday night, the Malone University women's basketball team traveled to Cedarville University for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference quarterfinal contest. 

The Pioneers (9-12. 9-11 G-MAC) entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed, and the Yellow Jackets (19-4, 18-4 G-MAC) came into the night as the regular season champion and No. 1 seed.

Malone jumped out to a lead in the 1st quarter, but in the end it was Cedarville who was able to punch their ticket into the semifinal round with a 70-55 win. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Emma Kallas and Robin Campbell got things going early for the Pioneer offense. Kallas scored the opening four points, and Campbell followed that up with five of her own including a three-pointer that put Malone up 9-7.

The Pioneers led by as many as six points in the quarter, but a late layup by the Yellow Jackets made it a 20-18 game heading into quarter two. 

Things became more of a struggle offensively for Malone in the second. Cedarville turned up their defensive intensity and limited Malone to just 4-14 shooting from the field. On the other end the Jackets scored 18 points and carried a 36-28 advantage into the halftime locker room. 

Defensive adjustments made by the Pioneers in the third led to Cedarville only scoring 14 points on a 29.4% shooting percentage, but Malone was unable to capitalize on the offensive end. Madison Hunter scored 9 of her 13 points in the quarter, but overall the Jackets still outscored Malone by a point to push their lead out to 50-40. 

Cedarville's lead did not fall below 10 points in the final quarter. The Jackets went up 56-40 early on in the fourth, but the Pioneers refused to go quietly. Alexis Hutchison connected on back-to-back three pointers to cut the deficit down to 10, but that was as close as Malone got down the stretch. 

In the end Cedarville was able to hold for the 70-55 win. 

PIONEER POINTS

• Madison Hunter finished with 13 points to lead all Malone scorers. She was 4-8 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line. She pulled down a team-high 9 rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double performance.

• Alexis Hutchison and Emma Kallas each scored 10 points for the Pioneers. Both players also tied for the team lead with three assists.

• Malone narrowly won the rebounding battle 39-38, which helped them produce a 36-30 advantage on points in the paint.