MARIETTA, Ohio — Host Marietta College could not overcome its slow start in a 59-47 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) loss to visiting Capital Wednesday (Jan. 20) night at Ban Johnson Arena. With the loss, the Pioneers end the first half of their league schedule 1-8 and dropped to 3-13 overall. The Crusaders remained in first place and improved to 11-5, 8-1 in league play [Box Score]

As it has been for most of the year, the Pioneers found themselves in a hole early. Freshman Aleisha Guiler (Lower Salem, Monroe Central) finally hit a pair from the line to snap an 8:13 Marietta scoring drought to start the game. By then, Capital had steadily built a 19-0 advantage. The Pioneers' first of three first-half field goals came with 8:45 to play in the half. The Crusaders, who led by as many as 21 points in the period, entered the break leading 28-12.

Marietta once again showed no sign up quitting in the second half outscoring Capital 35-31 in the period. The Pioneers, however, could not get any closer than 12 points and fell 59-47.

Guiler finished with another double-double as she scored a team-high 17 points and pulled down a game-high 11 boards. Senior Whitney Swain (Belpre, Warren Local) added 9 points and 6 rebounds, while sophomore Rachel Jones (Dublin, Coffman) had 9 points in the loss.

Caitlin Elsass paced Capital with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists. Tara Harper and Shalena Hawkins pitched in with 8 and 7 points, respectively, in the victory.

Capital out shot Marietta 41.1% (23-of-56) to 29.4% (15-of-51) on the night. Both teams hit a pair from long range. The Pioneers held the edge in rebounding, 41-36. Capital turned 23 turnovers into 24 points, while Marietta forced 16 turnovers and transitioned those into 14 points.

The Pioneers are back in action on Saturday (Jan. 23) afternoon when they began round two of their OAC schedule on the road against John Carroll University. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.