Thursday afternoon saw the Malone University women's basketball team take on the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan College for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) game.
While the Pioneers came up short against KWC, they still had something to celebrate as senior guard Alexis Hutchison notched the 1,000th point of her collegiate career.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Final Score: Malone University 55 – Kentucky Wesleyan College 65
- Records: Malone (6-4, 3-2 G-MAC) | KWC (7-3, 4-0 G-MAC)
- Location: Canton, Ohio | Osborne Hall
The Panthers opened the game with a five point lead, but the Pioneers responded with eight unanswered points. Alexis Hutchison contributed to that eight point run with a pair of free throws to push her over the 1,000 career point mark.
A jumper at end of the first quarter by Nataley Armstrong put Malone just a point behind the visitors.
Scoring in the second quarter started slow as KWC scored at the 8:46 mark. It took almost a full minute before any more points were scored, a Hutchison layup. At 6:38 Hutchison got another shot from the paint for just the third score of the quarter.
It was a defensive battle as it took another three minutes until either team found the basket again. As the halftime buzzer approached, both Hutchison and Brinn Hunt sank three-point shots to give the Pioneers a one point lead before the teams headed for the locker rooms.
Emma Kallas opened up the second half scoring with a shot from the paint. Back-to-back layups by Kallas and Anna Krupa halfway through the third quarter gave Malone their largest lead of the second half.
Once again, Nataley Armstrong closed out the quarter with two good free-throws.
The fourth quarter started with the Pioneers and the Panthers trading baskets. Hutchison and Kallas sank a few shots from the charity stripe to bring the home team lead back to five points.
With 4:42 left in the game, the Panthers got a three-pointer to tie the game at 51. Ultimately, Kentucky Wesleyan scored nine unanswered.
Within the final 1:09, Hutchison got Malone four points, but would not be able to help the Pioneers recover as the Panthers built their lead and finished the game with the 65-55 win.
THE DETAILS
Alexis Hutchison scored 19 points to lead the Pioneer scorers, and in the process surpassed 1,000 career points. She went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, pulled down seven rebounds, and grabbed a game-high 3 steals.
Emma Kallas had her second-straight double-double with her 17 points and 11 rebounds. Six of those rebounds were on the defensive end of the court.
Despite the loss, Malone out-scored the Panthers 14-11 on points off turnovers, 15-10 on second chance points, 34-24 on points in the paint, and 9-7 on points from bench players.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Pioneers are back in action in Osborne Hall as they welcome in the Trevecca Nazarene University Trojans on Saturday. Tip-off is at 1:00pm.
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Malone University athletic programs this year follow the Pioneers on Twitter and Instagram, like Malone University Athletics on Facebook or visit www.malonepioneers.com.
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