CANTON – The Malone University women's basketball team will continue their road stint with a trip to Columbus on Thursday evening to face Ohio Dominican University.

Matchup: Malone University Pioneers (8-6, 4-4 G-MAC) at Ohio Dominican University (3-11, 3-5 G-MAC)
Where: Columbus, Ohio | Alumni Hall
When: Thursday, January 13 | 5:30 p.m.
Tickets: Ohio Dominican University Ticket Office
Live Video Stream: Great Midwest Digital Network
Live Stats: Great Midwest Digital Network

Opening Week of 2022 for the Pioneers
The basketball team had three games originally scheduled for the opening week of the 2022 portion of their season.

The first game scheduled against Tiffin University was postponed in compliance with COVID-19 protocols within the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. 

Their first home game was then last Thursday's match up against University of Findlay. The Pioneers were able to break their four game losing streak when a last second block by Alexis Hutchison secured the 65-64 victory.

Most recently, the Pioneers hit the hardwood in Hillsdale, Michigan on Saturday afternoon. While Malone and Hillsdale traded baskets for much of the first half, the Chargers were able to build serious momentum and took control of the second half. 

Robin Campbell was the lead scorer for both games as she shot a combined 26 points, dished out 9 assists, and pulled down 9 rebounds. In the Findlay win, Hutchison also secured her season-high of seven rebounds. She was the only other Pioneer to score in the double digits for both games.

Hardwood Series
Thursday will be the 70th meeting all-time between Ohio Dominican and Malone. The Panthers have a slight 36-33 series lead entering the game.
 
The most recent meeting between these two teams was for the 2020-2021 regular season finale, where Ohio Dominican came out of Osborne Hall with a 79-63 victory. Emma Kallas, Holly Groff, Robin Campbell, and Alexis Hutchison all topped the double-digit point mark. As a team, Malone forced ODU into 16 turnovers that led to 15 points on the offensive side of the floor.

The last win for the Pioneers came in overtime fashion when they went to Columbus in December of 2019. Malone was led by Robin Campbell, Holly Groff, and Alexis Hutchison with all scoring in double digits on their way to a 69-61 victory. Groff pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and Campbell lead all scorers in the game with 15 points. Hutchison was credited with seven steals, the most by a Pioneer since Logan Pastor had seven on 12/15/12 vs. Saginaw. 

Knowing Your Opponent
ODU comes into the match up after two home wins against Lake Erie College and Ursuline College.
 
Kennedy Schlabach and Bailey Williams both topped the 20 point mark against Lake Erie, and both scored in the upper-teens against Ursuline. Combined they scored 78 of the total 160 total Panther points in the two games. Four players for Ohio Dominican scored in double-digits in both games.

Williams secured a double-double with her 21 points and 10 rebounds against Lake Erie. Her teammate, Gabby Stare got her first double-double of the season on Saturday against Ursuline with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Looking Ahead
Malone will finish their short road stint on Saturday when then travel to Cedarville University. The January 15th tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.