The Pioneers are undefeated at home still, after dominating IU East on Saturday, January 20. Multiple media sources such as The Pittsburgh Post Gazette have highlighted the men’s team on multiple occasions, and that is absolutely deserved. The women’s team has been playing incredibly well, and even though their popularity level is lower, they are playing more than well enough to earn some recognition of their own, especially with their performance as of late.
The women’s team had some questions to answer early in the season, even though starting off 4-0 was fantastic, they would then lose three straight scheduled matchups in late November, all being to difficult competition. This put them at a 4-3 record, which does not look too hot on paper. The Pioneers immediately turned their season around, as they played two conference games vs Shawnee State and Alice Lloyd. They won both of these games and gained momentum as the season went on. Since then, the Pioneers won nine of their last 10 games, and are now sitting strong at a 13-4 record. Looking like the team that we saw in the first four games of their season.
Their most recent matchup was a conference home game vs. Indiana East. The Pioneers have yet to lose at home, and this game continued that streak. The women would immediately fire away to start this game, taking a huge lead to end the first quarter with a score of 25-6. The second quarter would be better for IU East, but not by much, as the Pioneers would finish the first half with a lead of 45-24. The Pioneers defense would be the key to success, as they forced bad shots and only let IU East shoot 29% from the field, only allowing two made three pointers. The Pioneers would take advantage of these misses, turning it into easy transition buckets. The third quarter was no different: IU East struggled to score, and the Guard-Big Combo of Bleda and Legister was too much for the away team to handle. The Pioneers would outscore IU East 16-6 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers would come out on top with a final score of 77-48. Bleda would shoot 7-12 from the field for an efficient 15 points while also leading team in assists with 4. Gabriella Legister has been too much to handle for opponents this season, and this game was no different as she would score 15 points paired with 9 boards. Ballo and Sarr Ndow were the best performers off the bench, with Sarr Ndow scoring 11 points and leading the team with 10 rebounds. Ballo contributed 12 of her own, shooting 6-10 from the field. Multiple consistent contributorsband starters for The Pioneers would struggle on the offensive side. Emma Pavalek, the gritty starting point guard does it all in every game. Only scoring 5 points, but playing incredible defense with 3 steals. She would also get 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Isabella Pelaia would have an effective five minutes. Alexis Giles and Gillian Piccolino had off nights. They shot a combined 4-24 from the field. Even with these two not showing up on offense, they would contribute on the playmaking and defensive side. This would also showcase the depth of this Women’s team, as even with some struggling, there are so many players who can step up anytime.
Their only loss in their last 10 games was their game against Oakland City. This was an away game, that they went on to lose 72-66. Outside of this matchup. The Pioneers have looked unstoppable, and continue to perform at a top level.
The Pioneers look to continue their stellar season when they face ST. Mary-Woods on Thursday, January 25. This will be a revenge matchup, as Point Park beat ST. Mary-Woods in t the RSC playoffs last year. They then will face IU Kokomo on that Saturday, another tough conference matchup. The difficult road trip portion of the season ended, with more home games to come, but many of these future games will be challenging, facing off against some top RSC teams.
As the season progresses,these wins mean more than ever, as tournament play slowly arrives, with the women all aiming for the RSC championship trophy. This is not their only goal however, the ultimate dream is qualify to play in the NAIA national championship tournament.
