OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan women's basketball team (14-8, 10-6 G-MAC) was downed 60-52 Thursday inside the Owensboro Sportscenter.
An 8-0 run to close the battle sent Malone to 18-5 overall and 11-4 in the conference. The Panthers still lead the all-time series at a tally of 11-9.
The first half of action was as entertaining as it gets in college hoops. Neither team led by more than four points over the first 20 minutes, with the game's largest lead being a five-point advantage for the Panthers.
Riley Neal poured in 11 points in that first half, keeping Wesleyan right in it with the Pioneers. Malone's Elena Oliver drained a three with 13 seconds left to put the road team up three, but Myah Montgomery capitalized off a scramble and hit a three-pointer near the logo to tie the game at the buzzer, 31-31.
Malone opened the third quarter on a 10-5 run to take their biggest lead at 42-36, but the Panthers kept the Pioneers scoreless over the final four minutes of the frame to stay within reach. Neal scored Wesleyan's only four points in those four minutes to pull KWC within two at 42-40 going into the fourth.
The Pioneers again opened the period strongly, this time reeling off a 7-2 run to take a 49-42 advantage. Wesleyan responded again as Vilborg Jonsdottir connected with Iratxe Amorrortu Sainz for a three-pointer before Jonsdottir drove for her own layup to get KWC back within two at 49-47.
Later, with Malone up five at 52-47, Lily Hoagland drove for an and-one and Carson Sisk made a layup to tie the game at 52 as the Wesleyan faithful got on their feet.
The Pioneers responded with seven consecutive points to effectively put the game away and would end up prevailing 60-52.
Neal totaled 17 points, four assists, three rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot. Amorrortu Sainz joined her in double digits with 12 points, four rebounds, and an assist.
The Panthers are back inside the Owensboro Sportscenter on Saturday, February 14th, for Senior Day against the Walsh Cavaliers. Wesleyan will celebrate their three seniors: Myah Montgomery, Vilborg Jonsdottir, and Riley Neal.
Visit kwcpanthers.com/give today to make a gift to Kentucky Wesleyan Athletics! Gifts can be directed to general athletics, our athletic endowment, or any of our 14 NCAA Division II programs.
Stay up to date on all your Panther news by following @KWCPanthers on X and Instagram and by liking the "Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics" Facebook page. Also, the Panthers Mobile App is available on iTunes and Android featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more.
