CANTON – After their win in Columbus, the women's basketball will finish their short road stint when they travel to Cedarville University to take on the Yellow Jackets on Saturday afternoon. 

Matchup: Malone University Pioneers (9-6, 5-4 G-MAC) at Cedarville University (9-5, 4-4 G-MAC)
Where: Cedarville, Ohio | Callan Athletic Center
When: Saturday, January 15 | 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: Cedarville University Ticket Office
Live Video Stream: Great Midwest Digital Network
Live Stats: Great Midwest Digital Network

Strong Second Half in Victory Over ODU
When the Pioneers traveled to Columbus on Thursday to take on Ohio Dominican University, they had a strong first quarter that began with four points by Emma Kallas and Holly Groff. After the first ten minutes of play, Malone had a 21-12 lead. However, the Panthers found momentum in the second and third quarters. The Pioneers pushed back and expanded to their largest lead of the night with 3:26 to go. 

The second half effort was enough to secure the 72-66 victory over Ohio Dominican. Kelsey Swihart scored ten of her twelve total points in the second half and Groff added another ten points with 6 sunk from beyond the arc.

Groff led all scorers with 16 points and pulled down a season-high six rebounds. Robin Campbell finished with 12 points and distributed a team-high eight assists. Swihart, Kallas, and Alexis Hutchison rounded out the double-digit scorers for Malone. As a team, they pulled down 31 rebounds and scored 50 points in the paint. 

Hardwood Series
Saturday's game will be the 53rd all-time meeting between the Yellow Jackets and the Pioneers. Cedarville has a strong 37-15 all-time series lead and has won the last three match ups.

The last time these two teams met was in the 2020-2021 G-MAC Quarterfinal, where the top-seeded Yellow Jackets knocked the No. 8 seed Pioneers out of the playoffs by a score of 70-55. Madison Hunter led all Malone scorers with 13 points and narrowly missed a double-double with her 9 rebounds. Alexis Hutchison and Emma Kallas each scored 10 points, and both tied for the team lead with three assists. Malone outscored Cedarville 36-30 on points in the paint.

The last win for the Pioneers came in the 2019-2020 G-MAC Quarterfinal, when No. 5 seed Malone upset No. 4 seed Cedarville 83-73. Holly Groff scored a team-high 24 points, including five three-pointers, in addition to grabbing six rebounds and distributing three assists. The Pioneers shot 20-for-22 (90.9%) at the free throw line, 11-of-25 (44%) from three-point range, and 26-of-61 (42.6%) overall. Malone enjoyed a 43-34 advantage in rebounding, but Cedarville led 14-8 in second-chance points.

Knowing Your Opponent
The Cedarville University women's basketball team had a dominating performance over the Lake Erie Storm on January 8th. After scoring 44 points in the second half, they finished the afternoon with a 72-43 victory halting a three-game home losing streak.

Lydia Sweeney led the Yellow Jackets with a career-high 16 points and Lexi Moore add ten points of her own. Taylor Strock came off the as a defensive force, pulling down 10 rebounds on the defensive end of the floor. 
Cedarville had a six-point lead at halftime but a 13-2 run to start the second half put them up 41-24. They didn't lose momentum as they score the first 14 points of the fourth quarter and eventually pushed the lead out to as much as 33.

Looking Ahead
Malone will return to Osborne Hall on January 19th when they host Lake Erie College. Tip-off between the Pioneers and the Storm is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.