Three double figure scorers lead UOlivet to 61-58 victory over Kalamazoo

OLIVET, Mich. – Three players scored in double figures to help The University of Olivet women's basketball team win a 61-58 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) game over Kalamazoo College this afternoon inside the Cutler Event Center.

THE BASICS

• Final Score: Olivet 61, Kalamazoo 58
• Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Michigan
• Records: Olivet 4-9 overall, 1-3 MIAA; Kalamazoo 5-7 overall, 0-3 MIAA

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first quarter featured one tied score and three lead changes. Following the only tie at 7-7, the Comets went ahead by four points after sophomore Christina Malackanich made a free throw and senior Lily Connelly drained a three-pointer. The Hornets canned a free throw in the final 20 seconds of the quarter to trial by three points, 11-8, to begin the second quarter.
• Olivet increased its advantage to eight points on three occasions in the first four minutes of the second period. After the third time at 21-13, Kalamazoo used a 12-4 run to even the score at 25-25 with 1:14 left until halftime. A free throw put the Comets ahead 26-26 at the intermission.
• In the third quarter, Olivet extended its lead to five points, 30-25, at the 8:25 mark. The Hornets came back with a 7-2 spurt to level the score. Following another deadlock at 34-34, the Comets surged ahead by four points twice. The second time was 42-38 after Connelly made free throws following a technical foul on the Kalamazoo coach. A Hornet free throw created a 42-39 score at the end of the third stanza.
• There were two lead changes early in the fourth quarter. After Kalamazoo went ahead 43-42, the Comets scored seven straight points – layups by Malackanich and senior Clara Shoales sandwiched around a three-pointer by junior Kinsey Hatfield – to take a six-point lead, 49-43, with 6:46 remaining in the game. Olivet pushed its lead to as many as seven points three times.
• The Hornets fought back to make it a one-point game, 59-58, in the final 20 seconds of the game. Connelly split two free throws with 15.8 seconds left to make the score 60-58. Kalamazoo missed a shot at the other end of the court, and Hatfield grabbed the rebound. She then made 1-of-2 free throws for a 61-58 score with 4.3 ticks showing on the clock. Kalamazoo's last-second three-point attempt clanged off the rim.

FOR THE COMETS

• Malackanich scored a team-high 21 points. It is also a career single-game scoring high, as her previous best was 18 points earlier this season against Anderson (Ind.) University.
• Sophomore Kaylee Bush finished with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
• Connelly had 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, eight assists and five steals.
• Shoales pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

• The Comets host Albion College next Wednesday, January 8, at 7 p.m.