OWENSBORO, KY – It was a warm welcome back to the Owensboro Sportscenter for the Kentucky Wesleyan Women's Basketball team (9-2, GMAC 4-1) as they defeated Malone University (6-6, GMAC 2-2) 78-57 on Thursday night.
 
Senior guard Emmy Ralph was on fire from the opening tip, scoring eight of the Panthers' first ten points. Wesleyan held an early 12-2 lead until a short Pioneers run brought them right back in it. A couple successful trips to the charity stripe from Corina Conley and Shaylee McDonald paired with a steal and pull-up jumper at the buzzer from Shiya Hoosier gave the Panthers a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Ralph began the second with yet another triple, her third in three tries so far on the night. Conley led the Panthers on a 9-0 run late in the second period to extend the lead to 25 points. KWC led 47-21 at the half, as Ralph led the way with 17 points on 7/8 shooting.
 
Shaylee McDonald got in the paint and made a layup to kick off the second half. Jordyn Barga added four quick points to make it 71-37, which gave Wesleyan their biggest lead of the night to end the third quarter.
 
The Pioneers refused to wave the white flag, going on a 14-0 scoring run to begin the final quarter. Barga knocked down a jumper to stop the bleeding with 6:08 remaining. Ralph drilled another three-pointer late, leading all scorers in the game with 26 points.
 
Barga recorded another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. McDonald also had an impressive showing with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The Panthers got valuable contributions off the bench, as Sydnee Richetto scored nine points and freshman Jordan Gillies added six.
 
Catch the Wesleyan Women's team back here in action on Saturday at 12 p.m. as they face the #2 team in the nation, Ashland University.
 
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