ALLENDALE, MICH. — Maeve St. John scored a game-high 20 points to lead Northwood to a 61-57 win over Malone on Friday, March 13 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The win completed a four-game season sweep of Malone for Northwood (27-5), the Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion. The Timberwolves also beat the Pioneers (25-7) twice during the regular season and in the G-MAC Tournament championship game.
“I’m super proud of the way our kids battled in this game and all season long,” Malone head coach Selana Ickes said afterward. “To be 25-7 is a testament to our kids, how hard they work and the time they put in during the offseason.”
Malone trailed by as many as eight in the fourth quarter but rallied to within 59-57 on a Katie Kaufman jumper with five seconds left. St. John was fouled with four seconds left and hit two free throws to close out the scoring.
Erin Kaufman scored 16 points to lead the Pioneers. She finished her career with 1,803 points and 1,020 rebounds, good for fourth and third, respectively. in program history.
Brinn Hunt finished with 13 points. Katie Kaufman recorded her first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.
The loss completed the most successful season for Malone in the university’s NCAA era. The Pioneers had a .781 winning percentage, their best mark since 1982-83 when they went 30-3.
Their only big stumbling block this season was Northwood.
“We went out there and played our hearts out, and they did, too,” Erin Kaufman said. “They just came out on top.”
The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: The Malone women’s basketball team’s most successful NCAA season ends
Reporting by Canton Repository / The Repository
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