COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team built a 26 point lead in the first half but had to withstand a Malone run over the final 20 minutes to come away with a 64-55 victory Saturday.

The Panthers (4-3, 1-1 G-MAC) shot better than 60 percent in the first 15 minutes of play and raced to a 42-16 lead. ODU had closed the first quarter on a 16-0 run over the final five minutes of action, taking a 27-13 advantage, then outscored the Pioneers 15-3 to start the second quarter.

However, Malone (3-4, 1-1 G-MAC) climbed back into the game, closing to within 48-41 at the end of the third, then cutting the deficit to three on a pair of occasions early in the fourth.

Free throws by juniors Alexa Fisher (Powell, Ohio) and Hannah Clark (Glenmont, Ohio) put ODU in front 56-50 with less than four minutes left, and Clark made another free throw with 2:22 left to make it 57-52.

Then, after a Malone missed three, Clark buried a deep triple of her own with 49 seconds left to put the Panthers up eight and seal the win.

Fisher finished with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists to pace the Panthers. Clark added 12 points and sophomore Olivia Fox (Newark, Ohio) tallied 10 points with eight boards.

Sophomore Angela Troyer (Sugarcreek, Ohio) scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds and freshman Kennedy Schlabach (Millersburg, Ohio) scored seven points with five boards.

The Panthers committed just 10 turnovers in the win, their fewest in a game since tallying eight against Cedarville on Jan. 6, 2018. ODU also went a season-best 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) from the charity stripe.

ODU also limited Malone to just 35.4 percent shooting, the best defensive effort by the Panthers this season.

Ohio Dominican returns home to host Ursuline at 7 p.m. Thursday in Alumni Hall.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu