The Pioneers (4-10, 1-5 RSC) have struggled to find their rhythm this season and have let turnovers curse their court. Point Park turned the ball over 32 times in their home match-up against Midway (10-6, 5-1 RSC) last Thursday night, which cost them 32 points.

The Eagles had 21 steals compared to the Pioneers 11, but Point Park had a better day at the glass, snagging 39 rebounds compared to Midway’s 32. 

The Pioneers had only seven bench points and six second chance points while shooting 18-of-50 in the field, 8-of-15 from the free throw line and 2-of-9 behind the arc.

The Pioneers found themselves down 15-11 at the end of the first quarter after they had 10 turnovers and Midway went on a 10-2 run to start the game. Point Park was only down by eight points at the half (29-21), but they weren’t able to find a spark to make a comeback.

The Pioneers allowed 43 points in the second half of the game but only scored 25 points.

The Eagles started the third quarter with an 11-4 run to grab a 41-25 lead and clutched a 15 point advantage (50-35) over Point Park with one quarter left. 

Midway’s shooters were getting while the Pioneers found themselves missing shot after shot while time expired. The Eagles boasted a 26-point advantage to outscore Point Park 72-46

Sophomore guard Emma Pavalek, who just became Point Park’s first athlete to earn an NIL deal, led the team with 14 points, two assists and five rebounds. Junior guard Ari Bleda added 10 points and two blocks, but turned the ball over 13 times in 32 minutes. 

Senior forward Taylor Rinn grabbed 10 rebounds and six points while freshman guard Alexis Giles had four steals and seven points. 

After suffering a 26-point loss at home the night before, the Pioneers (5-10. 2-5 RSC) put up 80 points to defeat Indiana University Southeast (11-5, 4-3 RSC). Senior forward Taylor Rinn snagged 26 rebounds and scored 19 points for another double-double performance, making her the third player in Point Park history to surpass 900 career rebounds. 

Freshman guard Alexis Giles added another 19 points while sophomore guard Emma Pavalek had 12 points, five steals and dished two assists. Junior guard Ari Bleda sank 17 points along with seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks. Both Bleda and Giles had five personal fouls.

The Pioneers had 13 turnovers which became 13 points for IUS, but Point Park scored 17 points off of Indiana University Southeast’ 16 miscues. PPU had 13 steals and 13 assists while holding an advantage for the entirety of the game. 

Point Park was 33-of-76 from the field, 10-of-19 from the penalty stripe and 4-of-18 from behind the arc. The Pioneers outrebounded IUS 51-38 and scored sixteen second chance points. 

Bleda hit back-to-back layups to take a quick 4-0 lead and PPU held onto an advantage for the entirety of the match. The first quarter was capped with a layup from junior forward Tannher Hoffner to give them a 25-11 lead.

The Pioneers started off the second quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 34-13 lead with 6:54 left to play. A defensive rebound from Rinn with 53 seconds to play set up senior guard Jordan O’Malley for the layup to give PPU a 19 point  advantage. Rinn hit another layup as time expired to clutch a 47-28 lead at the half. 

Bleda hit a triple with 5:54 in the third period to give the Pioneers a 23 point advantage (56-33) — their largest of the night. Point Park’s offense stayed hot to lead 59-42 going into the last quarter. PPU did not take their foot off of the gas pedal and rode off with a 80-60 victory.

The Pioneers next game is against RV Oakland City University at home. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. on January 12th.