February 2, 2008
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Malone Knocks Off Notre Dame (OH) With Strong Second-Half PerformanceThe Malone College women’s basketball team roared back from a 44-34 halftime deficit to post a 76-70 victory over Notre Dame (OH) College at Osborne Hall on Saturday evening. The visiting Falcons, who entered Saturday’s game in a tie for first place in the American Mideast Conference North Division standings, shot over 56% (18-32) from the field in the opening stanza to build a 10-point lead at intermission. Malone turned the tables in the second frame, however, as the hosts outscored Notre Dame 28-6 over the first 13 minutes of the second half to take a 62-50 lead. The Falcons battled back, twice cutting the deficit to four points in the final 90 seconds before Pioneer freshman guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) sealed the 76-70 win after draining a pair of free throws with just three ticks remaining on the clock.
Malone’s defense clamped down in the second half of the contest as the Pioneers outscored Notre Dame 42-26 and held the Falcons to under 21% (7 of 34) shooting from the field. The loss, Notre Dame’s first in AMC North Division play, snapped the Falcons’ eight-game winning streak, dropping their overall record to 17-4 on the season (7-1 AMC North). Malone improved to 6-14 overall and 4-4 in the division with the victory.
The Pioneers made over 44% (27 of 61) of their field goal attempts in the contest, including 15 of 30 shots (50%) during the final period. Notre Dame hit six of 18 (33.3%) three-pointers on the night, but just 25 of its 66 (37.9%) overall attempts from the field.
Wilson led the way for Malone with 19 points, 13 of which came in the second half. The 5’5” point guard also pulled down seven rebounds and snagged three steals. Senior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) also made major contributions for the Pioneers with 17 points, five rebounds, four steals, and a season-high seven assists. Junior forward Nicole Feher (Lutheran West H.S.) notched her first double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 boards while junior forward Tara Miller (Miami East H.S.) tallied six points and eight rebounds.
Molly Baker paced the Falcons with 15 points. Amanda Brown added 12 points and four steals and Yvette Hunter registered eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
This week, Malone (6-14 overall, 4-4 AMC North) will travel to local rival Walsh University (9-12 overall, 2-6 AMC South) on Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. for the 12th annual Mayors’ Cup game. The squad will then resume conference play on Saturday when it hosts Point Park (PA) University (2-18 overall, 0-7 AMC North) at 5:30 p.m.
This week’s opponents: Walsh- Malone leads the all-time series with the Cavaliers 34-29 although Walsh defeated the Pioneers in overtime earlier this season (at Malone) by a final score of 72-70. In the Mayors’ Cup series, Malone holds a 7-4 advantage and has won the past three Mayors’ Cup games. With last season’s victory, Malone retired the Cup (i.e. winning three straight Mayors’ Cup games) for the second time in the history of the series (Walsh has yet to retire the Cup). Point Park- Malone leads the all-time series 13-3 and defeated Point Park 64-62 earlier this year (at Point Park). Malone has won each of the last eight meetings between the two schools.
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