February 16, 2008
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Pioneers Suffer Pair Of Losses In Upstate New YorkThe Malone College women’s basketball team dropped two American Mideast Conference North Division road games over the weekend as the squad fell 72-53 at NAIA Division II #17 Daemen College (Amherst, New York) on Friday evening and 72-65 to Roberts Wesleyan College (Rochester, New York) on Saturday afternoon. Following the 0-2 weekend, the Pioneers’ record now stands at 7-17 overall with a 5-6 mark in AMC North play.
Daemen, which entered Friday’s contest on a 14-game winning steak and in first place atop the American Mideast Conference North Division standings, scored the first ten points of the game and then never looked back en route to the 19-point triumph. The host Wildcats held the Pioneers to just 22.9% (8 of 35) shooting in the first half as they built a 38-20 lead at intermission. Daemen then maintained its double-digit advantage throughout the second stanza, stretching its lead to as many as 26 points as it pulled away for the 72-53 win.
The Pioneers struggled to get the ball into the basket throughout Friday’s contest as the squad converted on just 19 of 67 overall field goal attempts (28.4%), four of 16 three-pointers (25.0%), and only 11 of 25 free throws (44.0%). Daemen, meanwhile, held a 53-42 advantage in total rebounds, sunk 30 of 67 (44.8%) attempts from the field, and drained 10 of 14 (71.4%) free throws.
Freshman guard Allyson Wilson (Firestone H.S.) posted nine points and seven rebounds to lead Malone. Senior guard Kellyn Murphy (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) also registered nine points for the Pioneers while senior guard Nicki Sisson (Wayne Trace H.S.) tossed in seven. Sarah Bogardus paced the Wildcats with a game-high 17 points followed by Mary Kate Wilson, who recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Saturday’s match-up with Roberts Wesleyan remained close throughout the first stanza before the Raiders closed out the opening frame on a 5-0 run to take a 35-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. Malone quickly fought back to tie the game at 41-41 after outscoring Roberts Wesleyan 11-6 over the first six minutes of the second half. The Pioneers were unable to grab the lead, however, and the Raiders took command of the contest moments later with a 16-3 run that put them in front 59-45 with just over five minutes remaining. The hosts then maintained their sizable advantage over the remainder of the game to record the seven-point, 72-65 victory.
Malone posted season highs in Saturday’s contest for three-point shooting percentage at 62.5% (5 of 8) and free throw shooting percentage at 82.4% (14 of 17), but struggled inside the three-point line, connecting on just 23 of its 63 (36.5%) overall field goal attempts. Both teams tallied 42 total rebounds, but the Raiders fared better from the field, knocking down 32 of their 71 (45.1%) total shots. Roberts Wesleyan also forced 21 Pioneer turnovers, blocked seven shots, and snagged 12 steals.
Junior forward Tara Miller (Miami East H.S.) poured in a career-high 26 points (10-14 FG, 1-2 3PT FG, 5-5 FT) in addition to pulling down 13 boards for Malone. Murphy added 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two assists while senior guard Heather Fenner (Shelby H.S.) contributed eight points. Erin Farney paced the Raiders with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks followed by Erin Vess with 19 points, six boards, three blocks, and three assists.
Playoff Picture: Despite the pair of defeats, Malone enters the final week of the regular season (with three games remaining) in fifth place in the AMC North Division standings and, therefore, would qualify for the AMC postseason tournament as the North Division’s fourth seed if the playoffs started today (The AMC North and South Division regular season champions will each receive automatic bids to the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The number two through five finishers in each division will compete in an eight-team postseason tournament with the winner receiving the conference’s third and final automatic bid).
This week, Malone (7-17 overall, 5-6 AMC North) will travel to Notre Dame (OH) College (19-6 overall, 9-3 AMC North) on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. before returning home to face Ursuline College (10-15 overall, 3-8 AMC North) on Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. The squad will then wrap up its regular season schedule on Saturday at home with a 5:30 p.m. contest against Houghton (NY) College (14-10 overall, 7-5 AMC North).
This week’s opponents: Notre Dame- Malone leads the all-time series between the two schools 25-4 and defeated the Falcons at Osborne Hall earlier this season (February 2) by a final score of 76-70. The Pioneers have won 10 in a row over Notre Dame. Ursuline- Malone has won all seven of the previous meetings between the two schools, including an 88-80 victory at Ursuline earlier this season (January 3). Houghton- The Pioneers hold a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series although the Highlanders defeated Malone earlier this year (January 26 at Houghton) by a final score of 64-53. The Pioneers had won four straight meetings over Highlanders prior to their 11-point loss last month.
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