December 8, 2007

Malone Tops Berea (KY) 83-78

 
In its only contest of the week, the Malone College women’s basketball team recorded an 83-78 home win over Berea (KY) College on Saturday afternoon after withstanding a late Mountaineers’ rally.  The Pioneers led 75-65 with over three minutes remaining before a 13-3 Berea run knotted the contest at 78-78 with 24 ticks left on the clock.  Berea, which ran a full-court press for the majority of the game, scored the final four points of its game-tying run after forcing a pair of turnovers on consecutive Malone inbounds attempts.  However, with the game deadlocked at 78, the Pioneers finally broke free from the Mountaineers’ relentless pressure defense and took an 81-78 lead when junior forward Tara Miller (Miami East H.S.) converted a three-point play after being fouled on a made lay-up and then sinking the ensuing free throw.  Berea quickly sprinted down the floor and launched its 38th three-point attempt of the game.  The shot was off the mark, though, and freshman guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) cemented the 83-78 win after snagging the rebound and then hitting two free throws with just three seconds remaining.
 
The Mountaineers, who entered the contest averaging over 90 points per outing, trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half after hitting just 11 of 40 (27.5%) shot attempts, including only three of 20 (15.0%) three-pointers.  Berea fared much better in the second half, connecting on 20 of 40 attempts from the field, but it was not enough to overcome a 40-28 halftime deficit.  Malone committed 27 turnovers against the incessant Mountaineer press, but the hosts held a dominating 53-34 edge in total rebounds and made over 46% (30-64) of their shots from the field.  The victory improves the Pioneers’ overall record to 2-8 on the season (0-0 AMC N) while Berea falls to 8-4 (0-0 KIAC).
 
Wilson led Malone with a career-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists.  Junior forward Nicole Feher (Lutheran West H.S.) posted 14 points and seven rebounds, senior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) notched 13 points and ten boards while junior guard Katie Murphy (St. Vincent-St Mary H.S.) contributed ten points, ten rebounds, and five steals.
 
This week, Malone (2-8, 0-0 AMC North) will compete in just one contest, a 1:00 p.m. home match-up with Cedarville University (5-4, 0-0 AMC South) on Saturday afternoon.
 
This week’s opponent: Cedarville- The Yellow Jackets hold a 20-12 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools and defeated Malone by a final score of 84-56 (at Cedarville) earlier this season.  Cedarville has won each of the last twelve contests with the Pioneers.
 
Pioneer Notes: Kellyn Murphy leads the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game followed by Tara Miller at 9.8 and Nicole Feher at 6.6…Feher and Miller are each averaging a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game followed closely by Murphy at 6.2…Murphy also paces the squad in assists with 1.9 per outing.
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