PAINESVILLE, OHIO –  The Lake Erie College women's basketball team dug itself an early hole and couldn't recover as Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) newcomer Malone handed the Storm a 78-51 setback Thursday night (Feb. 7) at the Jerome T. Osborne Family Athletic & Wellness Center.

Malone (12-8, 8-8 GLIAC) jumped out to a 13-4 lead early and was up 22-8 midway through the opening half. Behind 11 points from Deborah Simmers, the Pioneers led by as many as 17 before taking a 12-point lead into halftime, 35-23.

The visitors then opened the first seven minutes of the second half on a 21-6 run to put the game firmly out of reach. Malone shot 68% from the floor in the second half.

The Storm (3-16, 1-15 GLIAC) were led in scoring by sophomore Jackie Murray (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/St. Vincent St. Mary) and senior guard Sarah Wojciechowski (Randolph, Ohio/Waterloo) with nine points apiece. 

Simmers led three Pioneers in double figures with a game-high 19 points.  Sarah Bardall scored 12 points and Leslie Raifsnider chipped in with 10, both off the bench.

Malone connected on 52.6% of its shots overall, going 30-of-57.  The Pioneers were especially deadly from beyond the arc, hitting 11 three-pointers in 21 attempts.  They also outrebounded the Storm 41-30.

Lake Erie shot 36.7% overall (22-of-60), but was just six-of-21 from distance in suffering a seventh straight loss.

The Storm hosts the other new GLIAC team on Saturday, Feb. 9, when Walsh University visits campus for the final event of "Social Media Saturday" at 7 p.m.

-LEC-