Dec. 4 (Tue.) - Men's Basketball home against Mt. Vernon Nazarene University; 7:30 p.m.  (RADIO - WNPQ 95.9 FM)

Dec. 7-8 (Fri.-Sat.) - Men's Basketball hosts Hoops 4 Healing Classic
                                         Fri. 6:00 p.m. - Walsh University vs. Point Park (PA) University
                                         Fri. 8:00 p.m. - MALONE vs. University of Northwestern Ohio
                                         Sat. 1:00 p.m. - Walsh vs. Northwestern Ohio
                                         Sat. 3:00 p.m. - MALONE vs. Point Park
                                   - Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field at Kent State University Golden Flash Gala

Dec. 8 (Sat.) - Women's Basketball home against Berea (KY) College; 5:00 p.m. (MALONE COLLEGE RADIO - www.malone.edu/radio)

Women’s Basketball Suffers Three Losses On The Week

     The Malone College women’s basketball team endured three hard-fought defeats last week, beginning with a 67-51 road loss to the University of Rio Grande on Tuesday evening.  The Pioneers then suffered a 72-70 overtime loss at home to local rival Walsh University on Thursday before falling 56-47 at Huntington (IN) University on Saturday afternoon.  Following the 0-3 week, Malone’s overall record now stands at 1-8 (0-0 AMC North) on the season.

     In Tuesday night’s game with Rio Grande, the host Redwomen outscored the Pioneers 16-4 over the final eight minutes of the contest en route to the 67-51 victory.  Rio had jumped out to a 21-11 lead midway through the first half but Malone battled back, cutting the deficit to 31-28 at halftime.  The Redwomen pushed their lead to nine points early in the second frame before the Pioneers once again rallied with a 12-3 run that tied the game at 42-42 with just over 12 minutes remaining on the clock.  Malone was unable to take the lead, though, and Rio Grande quickly took control with the 16-4 run.  Malone made 22 of 49 shot attempts from the field (44.9%) in the contest, marking the squad’s highest overall field goal percentage of the season, but it also committed 24 turnovers and connected on just two of eight three-pointers.  The Redwomen trailed 27-25 in total rebounds but hit 50% (29-58) of their shot attempts in the game.  Junior forward Tara Miller (Miami East H.S.) paced Malone with 14 points and seven rebounds.  Senior guard Nikki Sisson (Wayne Trace H.S.) and freshman guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) followed with 11 points apiece.

     Against Walsh on Thursday, Cavalier point guard Leah Seamon connected on a driving lay-up with three seconds remaining in overtime to break a 70-70 tie.  The Pioneers launched a desperation shot at the buzzer but the heave from near mid-court was well off the mark as Walsh ended a three-game losing streak to Malone with the thrilling 72-70 overtime triumph.  The Cavaliers led 34-24 at halftime and stretched their advantage to as many as 15 points early in the second half.  The Pioneers slowly chipped away at the deficit, though, eventually taking a 57-56 lead on a free throw by senior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.  The lead then exchanged hands several times over the next few possessions before a pair of Seamon free throws put Walsh on top 65-63 with 11 ticks remaining on the clock.  Following a Pioneer timeout, junior guard Katie Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary) sent the contest into overtime after scoring off a pass from her sister, Kellyn.  Walsh pulled ahead 70-67 midway through the extra frame but Malone clawed back once again to tie the game at 70-70 following a tough drive and bucket by Kellyn Murphy.  The Cavaliers then used up most of the remaining 14 seconds of overtime before Seamon drove to the basket and delivered the clutch game-winning shot.  Kellyn Murphy concluded the evening with a game-high 26 points (7-15 FG, 12-14 FT) and 13 rebounds.  Miller followed with 10 points, seven boards, and three steals while sophomore guard Bree Zehnder (Garaway H.S.) and senior guard Heather Fenner (Shelby H.S.) each tossed in nine points.  Katie Murphy added seven points, three assists, and nine rebounds, helping the Pioneers record a 48-39 advantage on the boards.
     In Saturday’s game at Huntington, the Foresters trailed 24-23 at halftime but then shot over 53% (14-26) from the field in the second stanza to pull away for the nine-point victory.  Malone had led 24-18 late in the first half before Huntington scored five unanswered points to cut the deficit to one at halftime.  The Foresters then opened the second frame on an 11-2 run to grab a 34-26 lead.  The Pioneers trimmed Huntington’s advantage to 36-32 over the next few minutes before the hosts put together their second 11-2 scoring run of the game to take a commanding 47-34 lead with 8:44 remaining on the clock.  Despite Malone’s best efforts, the squad was unable to get any closer than nine points over the final minutes, falling by the 56-47 final.  The Pioneers enjoyed a 36-29 advantage in total rebounds but hit just five of 10 free throws, committed 22 turnovers and, for the first time all season, did not make a three-point basket (0-2 on three-point attempts).  Kellyn Murphy led the way for Malone with 16 points.  Junior forward Nicole Feher (Lutheran West H.S.) followed with nine points and a game-high eight boards.  Katie Murphy tossed in eight points while Miller scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds.

     This week, Malone (1-8, 0-0 AMC North) will participate in just one contest, a 5:00 p.m. home match-up with Berea (KY) College (6-2, 0-0 KIAC) on Saturday.

     This week’s opponent: Berea- Saturday’s game will mark the first-ever meeting between the Pioneers and the Lady Mountaineers.

     Pioneer Notes: Kellyn Murphy leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game followed by Tara Miller at 10.3 and Heather Fenner at 5.8…Miller paces the squad in rebounding with 7.0 boards per contest followed by Nicole Feher with 6.2 and Kellyn Murphy with 5.8…Kellyn Murphy is also averaging a team-high 1.9 assists per game followed closely by her sister Katie Murphy with 1.8.