The Tiffin University women's basketball team fell in a tough GLIAC matchup on Thursday night to the Malone Pioneers. The Dragons and Pioneers traded punches back and forth, but Malone was able to land the late round knockout with a 66-62 win.
The first 10 minutes were dominated by the Dragons. TU was able to use pressure defense and second chance points to give themselves a nice lead. A Jordan Fraley three at the 8:35 mark in the 1st half gave Tiffin a solid 12 point lead. That is exactly the same time that it all came unraveled for the Dragons. Alyssa Brandon's two quick three point buckets off the bench turned the tide the Pioneers' way at the end of the half. The Pioneers would ride the momentum wave to the very end of the half by going on a 22-10 run to tie the score at 32.
In the second half, Malone used a Lindsy Snyder layup 13 seconds into the 2nd half to give the Pioneers the lead for good. Malone would stretch the lead to as much as 11 points. The Dragons would not give up though, as Kelsi Ash was summoned from the bench and performed well, throwing in six points, a rebound, and a steal in just 11 minutes of playing time. The Dragons made a 13-6 run late, but it was not enough, Malone held on to win.
The Dragons were led in scoring by Kaylee Patton and Deidre McKay, both with 12 points. Bre Nauman would add 10 points and 6 rebounds to her stat sheet, and the Dragon bench would produce 16 points. The game was a tale of two halves, as the Dragons led for a total of 18:46, and Malone led for 19:47. Each teams lead time occurred in separate halves.
With the loss Tiffin falls to 4-13 overall and 3-8 in GLIAC play. The Dragons will go east on Saturday as they travel to Canton to tangle with the Walsh University Cavaliers at 12 pm.
