MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's basketball team travels to Erie, Pa. this weekend to participate in the Penn State Behrend Tip-Off Tournament. The Pioneers take on Bethany (W.Va.) Friday at 6 p.m. while Penn State Behrend squares off against Hiram at 8 p.m. The consolation and championship games are slated for Saturday.

The Pioneers opened the season with a 73-58 victory over Hiram in Ban Johnson Arena. Fifth-year head coach Jill Meiring returned four starters from last year's team including junior forward #Aleisha Guiler (Lower Salem/Monroe Central)#.

Guiler earned second team All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors last year after averaging 16.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Despite playing just 19 minutes, Guiler led Marietta with 17 points against Hiram.

A trio of freshman made an immediate impact for the Pioneers. Guard #Jessica Brogan (Cincinnati/Anderson)# scored 10 points in her collegiate debut. #Heather Booth (Newport/Frontier)# was 5-of-7 from the floor for 10 points while #Lindsay Deemer (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum)# grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

The Bison of Bethany College enter the weekend with an 0-1 record after dropping a 69-61 decision to Denison in their opener. Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Rebecca Upton, the Bison return four starters from last year's 13-13 squad.

Senior guard Anne Wilson led the Bison a year ago averaging 10.1 points per game and notching 84 assists. Junior Kayla Taormina, a 5-foot-8 guard,  scored 9.8 points and pulled down 6.0 rebounds per outing last season.

Senior guard Audra Droginske was Bethany's leading scorer against Denison with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. Droginske averaged 6.7 points in 2010-11. Taorina chipped in with 14 points in the losing effort.

Behrend head coach Roz Fornari enters her 19th season at the helm of the Lions' program. Coming off a 20-8 season last year, the Lions return nine players that appeared in 25 or more games.

Opening the season in this weekend's tournament, the Lions are led by a pair of juniors. 5-foot-11 forward Holly Bourquin led Behrend in rebounding last season averaging 7.8 boards. She was second on the team with 12.2 points per game. Aly Eagle, a 5-foot-7 guard, averaged 11.1 ppg.

Fifth-year Hiram head coach Andrea Preston returns all but one player from a squad that went 12-14 last winter. The Terriers, who dropped their season-opener to the Pioneers, are led by a pair of all-conference senior guards.

Tiffany Shields was Hiram's leading scorer last year averaging 14.2 points per game. Shields scored 13 points for the Terriers against Marietta and grabbed a team-high five rebounds.

Point guard Kelsey Durichko averaged 6.8 points and dished out a team-best 138 assists a year ago. Against the Pioneers, Durichko notched four assists and five rebounds.

Freshman Kelsey Koskinen, a 5-foot-7 guard, led all scorers with 27 points in the season-opener. Koskinen hit 8-of-16 attempts from three-point range in her collegiate debut.

Fans can follow all the action from the Tip-Off Tournament by visiting the Penn State Behrend website at www.psblions.com.