CANTON, Ohio - The Malone University women's basketball team defeated the Ashland University Eagles 71-66 at home on Thursday evening. It is the first victory inside Osborne Hall for Malone over Ashland since the season-opening game of the 1986-87 season. The Pioneers improve to 20-5 on the season while the Eagles drop to 14-10. In the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), Malone stands tall at 13-4, while Ashland falls to 10-8.
 
In the first quarter, the Pioneers started strong as they had a 9-2 lead at 6:08 with a layup by Erin Kaufman. Malone kept the lead throughout the first period with three-pointers by Meredith Randulic and Irene Maroto. The Pioneers finished the first quarter with a 15-11 lead.
 
Brinn Hunt started Malone off with a three to help put the Pioneers ahead 20-13 lead less than one minute into the period, but Ashland then went on a 19-0 run to give the Eagles a 34-22 lead over Malone with 1:48 left. The Pioneers ended their scoring drought with a jumper by Maroto. In the last minute, Alia Miller got on board with a successful layup, and Kaufman made a last-second layup to cut Ashland's lead to 38-34 at halftime. The Eagles controlled the second quarter and outscored Malone 23-13.
 
In the third quarter, the Pioneers took the lead back with a layup by Kaufman with 8:13 left in the period. Both teams traded the lead throughout the period, but Kylee Bruce made a defensive effort on the rebound in the last 20 seconds, which led to an Elena Oliver jump shot to give Malone a 48-46 lead going into the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter was a close one as both teams kept the score differential to under six points. Kaufman recorded 18 points alone in the fourth quarter for the Pioneers to help secure the victory over Ashland. The Eagles had a chance to tie the game up at the free throw line with less than one minute to go, but came up 1-of-2 on the potential game-tying opportunity.
 
Kaufman was the key player for Malone as she had a career-high 33 points in tonight's performance. The Pioneers were successful in free throws as they finished the game an impressive 86.7% (13-for-15) from the line. Oliver was also in double figures with 10 points and Maroto finished the game with seven points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
 
The Pioneers host the Lake Erie College Storm for senior day on Saturday, February 21. Tip-off is at 1:00 P.M.