Box Score

For the second time this season, the Malone University women's basketball team (20-9) defeated the defending NCAA Division II National Champion Ashland University Eagles (18-9) on their home court, this time in the first round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs to advance to the GLIAC semifinals.

The Pioneers, seeded fifth in the eight-team GLIAC Tournament field, had to withstand a sluggish start offensively, overcoming a 4-for-18 drought from the field and a 23-11 deficit on the scoreboard. Sophomore Leslie Raifsnider came off the bench to spark the Pioneer offense, stroking a jumper to ignite a 16-2 run over a six-minute span to put the Pioneers out front 27-25. A Melanie Poorman layup before half sent the fourth-seeded Eagles into halftime holding a slim 31-30 lead.

Like the first half, the Pioneers started cold to open the second stanza. Malone would misfire on its first 14 field-goal attempts at the start of the second half to fall behind 38-30. Senior Sydnee Penn ended the spell with a jumper 5:30 into the period to get things rolling for the visitors. She would go on to score eight of the team's first 11 points in the half to help track down the Eagles.

Malone took their first lead of the half, 44-42, on a layup from senior Deborah Simmers with 10:53 to play. They would not trail the rest of the way. Logan Pastor's layup with 4:03 to play put the Pioneers up 56-52, but it would be their last points of the game. The Pioneers' shooting woes down the stretch forced them to ratchet up the intensity on the other end of the floor. The Malone defense would force three turnovers over the final four minutes, while holding the desperate Eagles 0-for-6 in the game's decisive minutes. The Eagles had two cracks to tie the game in the final possession but Ashland's Alyssa Miller could not convert on two heaves, eliminating the GLIAC South Division Champions from the postseason tournament and sending Malone into the semifinals.

Penn led all scorers with 20 points while junior Selana Reale posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

With the win, Malone sets up a date with the GLIAC Tournament's #1 seed, Wayne State (MI) University.  The Warriors will host the semifinals on Saturday and the GLIAC Tournament Championship Game on Sunday.  The start times for Saturday's semifinal games have yet to be determined.  .

For additional GLIAC Tournament information and a complete bracket, check out the event webpage at http://www.gliac.org/sports/wbkb/2013-14/tournament/2014_WBB_Tournament