Women’s Basketball Posts 1-1 Record In AMC South Competition
 
     The Malone College women’s basketball team rolled to a 70-56 victory at home last Tuesday over Ohio Dominican University but the squad was unable to further extend its five-game winning streak, falling to The University of Rio Grande on Saturday (away) by a score of 68-59.  With the 1-1 week in conference play, the Pioneers are currently 9-12 overall and 6-6 in the AMC South Division.
     Against Ohio Dominican, Malone held a commanding 34-21 lead at halftime and shot 57.1% (12-21) from the field in the second half to secure the 70-56 victory.  A significant factor in the Pioneers’ success was their solid 75.9% shooting from the free throw line for the game (22-29), compared with the Cougars which shot just 30% from the charity stripe (3-10).  The Malone offense was led by Nikki Parson (Jr., Garaway H.S.) who tallied 21 points (7-11 FG, 1-1 3PT FG, 6-6 FT) and eight rebounds.  Erica Mishler (Jr., Hiland H.S.) followed with 18 points and Cara Shiplett (So., Northwest H.S.) posted a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds as the Pioneers won the battle of the boards 41-37.  In addition, Mishler grabbed five steals and Jennifer Miday (Jr., Hoover H.S.) dished out three assists.
     At Rio Grande, Malone trailed 31-26 at the half but shot just 1-11 (9.1%) from behind the three-point line in the second half (along with 13 turnovers in the final period) en route to the 68-59 defeat.  Mishler paced the Pioneer offense with 17 points followed by Shiplett, who posted her second consecutive double-double (sixth on the year) with 12 points and 13 rebounds, as Malone held a slim advantage in total rebounds 37-35.
     This week, Malone (9-12, 6-6 AMC S) will host Tiffin University (9-12, 6-6 AMC S) at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday night before traveling to Wilberforce University (7-13, 5-7) on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off.
     This week’s opponents: Tiffin - The Dragons lead the all-time series over Malone 16-15 and defeated the Pioneers 79-74 (at Tiffin) earlier this season.  Wilberforce - Malone leads the all-time series with Wilberforce 10-3 and defeated the Bulldogs earlier this season 79-69 (at Malone).  Malone has won two in a row against Wilberforce.
     Malone notes: Nikki Parson leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points per game followed by Cara Shiplett at 14.2…Parson also paces the squad in rebounds at 8.6 per game followed by Shiplett at 8.0…Kellyn Murphy leads the team in assists at 3.1 per game.   
  

Men’s Basketball Falls To ODU, Comes Back To Knock Off Rio Grande On The Road

     The Malone College men’s basketball team fell just short in its comeback attempt against Ohio Dominican University at home last Tuesday in an 80-79 loss but rebounded on the road Saturday, pulling out a tough 71-65 comeback win over the University of Rio Grande.  With the 1-1 week in conference play, the Pioneers are currently 11-13 overall and 6-6 in the AMC South Division.
     Against Ohio Dominican, Malone trailed 35-31 at halftime and was down by as many as 13 points in the second period before launching a comeback that brought them to within one point of the Cougars when Jesse Schlabach (Jr., Lake H.S.) nailed a clutch three-pointer with just nine seconds remaining in the game.  After a foul on the ensuing possession and two missed free throws by Ohio Dominican, Malone launched a final shot at the buzzer from near midcourt that narrowly missed and the Pioneers dropped the hard-fought contest by a score of 80-79.  Tyler Renner (So., Garaway H.S.) led five Malone players in double figures with 23 points followed by Chris Miller (Jr., Hiland H.S.) with 17 points and Shane Humphrey (So., Loudonville H.S.) with 14 points.  Ben Carver (So., Shelby H.S.) tallied 11 points and Schlabach added 10 points.  Renner and James Hannum (Jr., Massillon Washington H.S.) each grabbed six rebounds but Malone lost the battle of the boards 39-30.  In addition, Schlabach dished out four assists and Humphrey tallied three assists.
     At Rio Grande, the Pioneers once again found themselves trailing at the half, this time by a 42-30 deficit.  Although the Redmen increased their lead to 14 early in the second period, the Pioneers once again rallied, outscoring Rio Grande 41-23 in the second half and holding their opponents to just 25% shooting from the field in the final period en route to the 71-65 victory.  The successful Malone comeback was led by Miller with 19 points (17 of which came in the second half) and Renner with 15 points (11 coming in the final period).  The Pioneers also received significant contributions from Humphrey, who added 11 points, and Schlabach, who contributed 10 points.  Renner grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds as Malone outrebounded the Redmen 50-45.  In addition, Schlabach dished out four assists and collected five steals on the evening.  
     This week, Malone (11-13, 6-6 AMC S) will host Tiffin University (14-7, 6-6 AMC S) at home on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.  The team will then travel to Wilberforce University (5-16, 4-8 AMC S) on Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.
     This week’s opponents:  Tiffin - Malone leads the all-time series 50-20 and defeated the Dragons earlier this season 83-77 (at Tiffin).  Wilberforce - Malone holds a 17-11 all-time series vs. Wilberforce and defeated the Bulldogs 95-84 (at Malone) earlier in the year.  Malone has won two in a row over Wilberforce.
     Malone notes: Tyler Renner leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game followed by Chris Miller at 15.0 and Jesse Schlabach at 14.6…Renner also paces the squad in rebounding with 8.0 per game followed by Shane Humphrey with 6.0…Schlabach leads the team in assists at 2.3 per game.    
     
Five Race Walkers Qualify For NAIA Indoor Nationals; Pioneer Track & Field Athletes Also Compete At Ohio State Invitational

 

     While the majority of the Malone College indoor track & field athletes competed at The Ohio State University Invitational last Saturday, several other members of the Pioneer squads competed at the USATF Indoor Championships at The University of Findlay that day.
     At the Findlay event, Malone's race walking team members turned in a truly outstanding day as five Pioneer athletes (three women, two men) posted NAIA Indoor National automatic qualifying times and each bested the Malone record that was on the books heading into the competition.
     For the women, two-time NAIA All-American Lindsey Hipp (Sr., Amherst H.S.) posted the new school record in the one-mile race walk with a seventh-place time of 7:38.31among a field of 28 of the nation's best race walkers at all levels.  Ashley Thomas (Jr., Anchorage, AK), a three-time NAIA All-American, was close behind in ninth place at 7:53.74 while Missy Walker (Jr., Piqua H.S.), a 2004 All-American, also qualified for NAIA indoor nationals with a 15th-place finish in 8:37.82.
     For the men, Brad Sinick (Jr., Field H.S.) collected the new school mark in the 3000-meter race walk as he finished 16th in 16:32.35.  Nate Hughes (Jr., Worthington Christian H.S.) was right behind in 17th place in 16:42.63.  Both qualified for NAIA indoor nationals with their performances.
     At The Ohio State University Invitational, the Pioneer teams squared off against mostly NCAA Div. I competition and turned in some solid performances.

     Finishing in the top eight for the women's squad were Loren Reineke (Jr., Anna H.S.), who finished sixth in the 800-meter run in 2:27.56, Laura McElrath (So., Tallmadge H.S.), who took seventh in the long jump (17' 0") and eighth in the high jump (4' 11.75").  In addition, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Vallie Scott (Fr., West Branch H.S.), Kim Winton (Fr., Medina H.S.), Kristina Barrett (Sr., Licking Valley H.S.) and Brittany Davies (Jr., Cedarville H.S.) finished sixth in a time of 4:12.32.
     A number of Malone men's athletes also finished in the top eight of their events on the day.  Jay Brueckner (So., Crestview H.S.) placed fifth in the 600-meter run in 1:26.74 with Jon Easterling (Fr., Ashtabula H.S.) right behind in sixth place in 1:31.37. 
     Chris Cruise (So., Field H.S.) took sixth in the 400 meters in 51.10 seconds while Nik Schweikert (Fr., Beavercreek H.S.) and Aaron Maglott (Fr., Galion H.S.) finished sixth (1:59.30) and eighth (2:01.71), respectively.
     In addition, Malone had two 4x400-meter relay teams that finished in sixth and eighth place.  The Malone A squad of Adam Huffman (Sr., Crestwood H.S.), Cruise, Cody Ford (Sr., Minerva H.S.) and Tim Walter (Sr., West Muskingum H.S.) finished sixth in a time of 3:30.20 while the B unit of Jeb Ford (Fr., Minerva H.S.), Maglott, Easterling and Brueckner placed eighth in 3:35.17.
     This week, the Malone teams will send athletes to the University of Akron Invitational on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and to the Mt. Union College Invitational, also on Saturday, at 11:00 a.m.