TIFFIN, Ohio – Heidelberg University came from behind in the second half to defeat Marietta College 78-69 Saturday (Dec. 14) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference women's basketball. The Student Princes overcame a 13-point deficit improve to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the OAC. The Pioneers fall to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Heidelberg jumped on top in the first half and led most of the way. A jumper from
Mackenzie Kiser (Windham/Champion) with 44 seconds left in the half put Marietta on top 30-29. After a free throw from Heidelberg tied the game, the Pioneers scored the final four points of the period to lead 34-30 at halftime.
Marietta capitalized on a pair of Berg turnovers to start the second half and pushed the lead to eight, 38-30, in the opening minute of the period. The Pioneers pushed the lead to as many as 13 points, 48-35, at the 15:26 mark.
A 13-3 run by the Student Princes cut the margin to three, 51-48, midway through the second half. The Pioneers clung to the lead over the next six minutes until a layup from HU's Carli Patrick tied the game, 62-62, with 4:30 remaining.
Kathleen Phillips hit a jumper with just over two minutes left on the clock to put Heidelberg in front for good. The Student Princes were 6-for-6 at the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
Juniors
Heather Booth (Newport/Frontier) and
Candice Alexander (Fairborn/Fairborn) led the Pioneers. Booth finished with a team-best 21 points and eight rebounds. Alexander added 13 points and six boards. Senior
Tori Dixon (Londonderry/Vinton County) was in double figures with 12 points.
Phillips led all scorers with 24 points. She grabbed five rebounds and had six steals. Allie Hawkins chipped in with 16 points, while Patrick added 10 points and four rebounds.
Marietta dominated the glass finishing with 42 rebounds to Heidelberg's 27. The Pioneers committed 2 turnovers, while the Student Princes had 17 turnovers in the game.
For the game, Marietta shot 42.4% (28-of-66) from the floor, 22.2% (4-of-18) behind the arc and 69.2% (9-of-13) at the free throw line. Heidelberg was 24-of-55 (43.6%) from the floor, 8-of-19 (42.1%) from three-point range and 22-of-26 (84.6%) at the line.
Marietta travels to Muskingum University for a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday (Dec. 18). Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
