LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sophomore forward #
Heather Booth (Newport/Frontier)# poured in a career-high 24 points to lead Marietta College over Huntingdon College (Ala.) 84-68 Monday (Dec. 17) evening in the first round of the Transylvania University Pat Deacon Classic.
Booth shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor in the first half scoring 16 points as Marietta (5-5 overall) fought back from a 10-point deficit to take a 44-38 halftime lead.
Huntingdon (3-50 jumped out to a 25-15 lead at the 11:31 mark of the first half. After the teams traded buckets, the Pioneers responded with an 11-0 run to take the lead 28-27 on a pair of free throws from #
Candice Alexander (Fairborn/Fairborn)# with 8:07 left in the period.
The Hawks started the second half with a 12-2 run to take the lead, 50-48, with 16:52 left in the game. Following a couple of ties, Marietta's #
Shelby Maloney (Beavercreek/Beavercreek)# scored on a tip-in to give the Pioneers the lead 54-52. Marietta would lead the rest of the way.
A 12-2 run midway through the final period gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the game, 79-60, with 3:52 left on the clock. Senior #
Krissy Rowe (Toledo/Sylvania Southview)# capped the run with a jumper in the lane.
Booth led the Pioneers with 24 points and seven rebounds. Alexander chipped in with 12 points and five boards, while junior #
Tori Dixon (Londonderry/Vinton County)# added 12 points.
Katie Martin scored 17 points off the bench to lead Huntingdon. Patricia Pickens scored 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Morgan Crawford notched 15 points.
Marietta shot 54.0% (27-of-50) from the floor, 37.5% (3-of-8) from three-point range and 73.0% (27-of-37) at the line. Huntingdon hit 23-of-72 (31.9%) from the floor, 8-of-31 (25.8%) behind the arc and 14-of-19 (73.7%) from the line.
The Pioneers grabbed 40 rebounds to the Hawks' 39. Marietta also committed 21 turnovers, while Huntingdon had 18.
Marietta plays Transylvania Tuesday (Dec. 18) at 2:00 p.m. Fans can catch the action live at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
