MARIETTA, Ohio – Down by double digits for most of the game, the Marietta College women's basketball team stormed back to take a 63-61 victory over No. 25-ranked Wilmington College Tuesday (Dec. 13) night in Ban Johnson Arena. [Box Score]

“It wasn't pretty,” said Marietta Head Coach Jill Meiring. “We got a little fire going in the second half with our defense. Our players hate to lose and were determined to find a way to win tonight.”

The Pioneers captured their first and only lead of the game when Junior post #Aleisha Guiler (Lower Salem/Monroe Central)# sank two free throws to break a 61-61 tie with nine seconds left in regulation. Wilmington was unable to convert on its two final attempts Marietta posted the upset victory.

The win improves the Pioneer's record to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The loss was the first on the year for the Quakers as they fell to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the OAC.

Both teams struggled early from the field and in terms of ball security in the first half. Marietta shot only 33.3% (9-of-27) from the floor in the first half while the Quakers and Pioneers combined for 25 turnovers in the opening period.

Wilmington jumped out to an early 8-2 lead just 4:10 into the game, leading to a Marietta timeout. The Pioneers responded by cutting the lead to just one, 10-9, with 12:56 to play in the first half. The Quakers were able to stifle the Pioneer run with a 13-2 run over the next five minutes pushing the lead to 24-11 with 8:14 to play before halftime.

Marietta kept the lead under 10 points the rest of the half until a Bria Eslick three went down at the end of the period for the Quakers, giving them a 33-22 lead at intermission.

“We just didn't look like a Marietta team in the first half,” said Meiring. “We started doing the job defensively in the second half. We rebounded much better and got some steals.”

The Pioneers came out of the locker room a different team however; starting the half on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 33-32 with 16:36 to play in regulation. Wilmington again answered the Marietta run with a 14-4 burst pushing the margin back to 11 points, 47-36, with 11:45 to play.

Wilmington kept the Pioneers at bay for the next five minutes leading by nine, 55-46, with 6:16 remaining. A steal by freshman guard #Sierra Sigman (Chillicothe/Zane Trace)# brought the Pioneers to within three, 59-56, with 2:33 to play. Wilmington's last basket was converted with 1:41 remaining giving the Quakers a 61-56 advantage.

Sigman converted an old fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 61 with 49 seconds left on the clock. Guiler's fourth block of the evening sparked a big defensive stop for Marietta and lead to Guiler's game-clinching free throws.

Sigman and fellow freshman #Jessica Brogan (Cincinnati/Anderson)# each scored a team-high 11 points in the win for Marietta. Freshman post #Heather Booth (Newport/Frontier)# added 10 points off the bench while Guiler scored eight points and grabbed a team-high eight boards to go along with her four blocks.

Eslick led the Quakers with a double-double posting game-highs in points (16) and rebounds (12). Makenzie Wippel scored 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

Marietta finished the game shooting 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field, 18.8% (3-of-16) from three-point range and 88.9% (8-of-9) from the charity stripe.

Wilmington shot 39.1% (25-of-64) from the field, 14.3% (2-of-14) from three and 75% (9-of-12) from the free throw line.

The Quakers held the edge in rebounding 43-29 including 20 offensive boards. The Pioneers forced 21 turnovers while committing 19 for the game.

40 of Wilmington's points were scored in the paint. Marietta held a 13-2 advantage on the break and 27-16 edge in bench scoring.

The Pioneers are back in action on Saturday (Dec. 17) afternoon at Ohio Northern. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.