CANTON, Ohio – In the quarterfinal round of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament, the Malone University women's basketball team defeated Kentucky Wesleyan College 69-40 to advance in the postseason.
 
The Pioneers, as the three-seed, will face the two-seed, Hillsdale College in the semifinals at Ashland University. Malone will enter "The Nest" with a record of 22-7 overall. The season comes to an end for Kentucky Wesleyan at 15-11.
 
The Panthers scored the first six points of the game with a three and an and-one, but the Pioneers went on a 10-0 run to answer with a pair of jumpers by Kyli Horn and three-point field goals from Brooklyn Troyer and Abbey Price. Brinn Hunt added her name to the three-point shooting party later in a 15-11 first quarter.
 
Aila Miller entered the game off the bench and made an impact offensively in the second quarter of play. The team got out to an 11-point lead at the break, 31-20. The defense held Kentucky Wesleyan to nine points in the period.
 
Erin Kaufman had a quiet night for her standards, but helped Malone win the third quarter to remain in front. A steal in the final seconds by Horn led to a pair of made free throws to make the score 47-34 with ten minutes to play.
 
The Pioneers erased all thoughts of a Kentucky Wesleyan comeback with a dominant fourth quarter performance. Malone won the period 22-6 to cruise to a 69-40 victory. Price and Troyer sank three-point tries to spark an 8-0 run and the lead grew to a game-high 29 points with a Katie Kaufman and-one.
 
In total, the Panthers were held to 21.4% (12-of-56) from the field, the lowest percentage by any opponent of the Pioneers this season. Kentucky Wesleyan was 4-of-22 (18.2%) from downtown in the loss. There was a 30-16 difference in paint points in favor of Malone, and just like in their previous two meetings, the Pioneers won the rebounding battle, 43-30. The Malone bench outscored the Panthers 24-8.
 
Individually, Troyer led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-9 from three-point land. Troyer tied with Hunt at a team-high four assists. Nataley Armstrong collected several boards late in the game for seven to pace the squad.
 
Malone and Hillsdale will do battle in a neutral site G-MAC semifinal game at Ashland University on Friday, March 7 at 7:30 P.M.