ASHLAND, Ohio - For the first time since the 2013-14 season, the Malone University women's basketball team has defeated Ashland University on their home floor, 68-65. The Pioneers moved to 16-4 and 9-3 inside the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) with a gritty final minute to thwart off an Ashland comeback effort. The Eagles are now 11-7 overall and 7-5 in conference action.
 
The duo of Erin Kaufman and Elena Oliver combined for all 13 points before the first media timeout to propel Malone to a 13-9 lead. They were a combined 3-for-3 from downtown in the first five minutes. Brinn Hunt and Meredith Randulic added their names to the three-point party to pull away by double figures, but a few scores by Ashland in the final minutes made it 23-13 Pioneers through one quarter. Malone was 6-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc in the opening period and the Eagles had no answers themselves from long range.
 
A pull-up jumper from three by Randulic helped to carry that hot shooting into the second quarter. Irene Maroto got going with three field goals in the first five minutes of the period to claim a 32-18 advantage with 4:46 remaining. An and-one by Kaufman was answered by nine in a row for Ashland to cut the lead to 35-27 at the break. The Pioneers were scoreless over the final 4:17 in the quarter.
 
The Eagles were red hot coming out of halftime and scored ten straight to take their first lead of the evening, 37-35 and force Malone into a timeout at 6:14 in the period. Kaufman broke the scoreless drought on the first possession with an and-one to retake the lead despite a nearly nine-minute stretch without points. In total, it was a 19-0 run for Ashland spanning the second and third quarters.
 
The third quarter ended with the home squad in front, 47-45. The Pioneers were held to 10 points on just 4-of-15 from the field while Ashland doubled Malone's output on 8-of-16 shooting.
 
Hunt and Bridget Barber nailed back-to-back triples in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to go back in front 51-47, but the Eagles stayed in striking distance. An and-one by Randulic made it 56-54 at the final media timeout with 4:28 on the clock. A pair of free throws from Nataley Armstrong and a stop-and-score by Oliver increased the Pioneer lead to five at 60-55 with 1:32 to play.
 
A three by Ashland was answered with a successful mid-range jump shot from Randulic to keep the gap at two-possessions. Another 2-for-2 trip to the charity stripe by Armstrong made it a 64-58 game with 39 seconds left. A layup and three from the Eagles made things interesting, but a calm and collected Oliver sunk two freebies and the game-tying three was off-target in the 68-65 win.
 
The defense was effective for Malone with a 36-29 advantage on rebounds and allowed just two offensive rebounds and zero second chance points. The bench unit outscored Ashland 24-2, most of that damage done by Randulic's team-high 17 points. Kaufman had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds and Oliver netted 14 points in total.
 
The Pioneers have a week off to prepare for the current conference leaders in Northwood University for their next game on Thursday, February 5. Tip-off inside Osborne Hall is scheduled for 5:30 P.M.